Making a movie in one week is a big task for anyone, anywhere. The writing, the acting, the directing, the filming, the editing — it’s a massive collaborative process with many pieces that hopefully come together into one cohesive whole. The goal? To create a film that pulls the viewer into the story as if they are living it. To entertain whoever watches it while igniting different emotions within them. And some movies hope to go even further than that - they hope to inspire people in such a way that they are forever changed in how they live in the world.
The Smooth Feather Youth Film School has a very clear way in achieving all these things in the films they make. By creating a fun and inspiring environment for the students, the films they create then mirror that feeling. It's simple really: by creating a movie-making team of students and instructors who are connected, kind, respectful, and looking out for each other, the movie then predictably holds those same feelings that were present during the creation of the movie. The result is a week-long experience of hard work and laughter that leads to a beautiful movie that goes out to the world for all to share in.
This year's movie "Rise Above" was just released a few days ago. What really makes the movie (in my opinion) is the master actor that appears about 1/3 of the way into the movie. Never has someone gazed into the sky with such poetic presence, such simple elegance, such naked authenticity… -Chris Lombard, Smooth Feather Film School Instructor