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By Jess McNamara
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Students, faculty, and the Walpole community gathered round the Walpole High red carpet on Thursday for the 15th annual Walpole Film Festival. The red carpet event – complete with limousines, interviews, and paparazzi – led to the Festival’s prestigious awards night, during which students were nominated for films completed during the year. Students and family members packed the sold-out Walpole High School auditorium for a screening of the four Best Picture nominees, before the awards commenced.
Senior Nathaniel Kelley poses on the red carpet. Kelley was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film ‘Simply Red.’ Photos by Michael Alan
This is the 15th year of the Walpole Film Festival, a program through Walpole High School in which students spend the duration of the year making original films, culminating in two premiere nights and the final awards. The awards are voted on by an academy of program alumni and faculty, many of whom return to the famed awards ceremony to present the awards to winning students. This year featured 12 original films, though the star of the night was an independent film, “The Promposal,” made by sophomores Ava Straccia and Nicole Waters, which took home four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Danielle Anastasia, Jake Witherell, and Hannah Cullen. Students stop for a photo-op on the red carpet before the Walpole Film Festival Awards night Photos by Michael Alan
This year was particularly special, as the ceremony featured a screening of a film made by student Anthony Conti, “The Black Ghiandola.” Conti, who suffered from stage 4 adrenal cancer, made the film with the help of Make A Film Foundation. The Make A Film Foundation grants film wishes to children who have serious or life-threatening medical conditions by teaming them with noted film industry actors, writers, directors, and producers who help them to create short film legacies. The film starred Conti, alongside Johnny Depp and J.K. Simmons, and originally premiered in at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center in Boston in April. Conti was posthumously awarded an Honorary Award for Best Director, which was accepted on his behalf by the founder of the Make A Film Foundation, Tamika Lamison.
The Walpole High School Film Festival was created in 2003 with the goal of exposing students to the production of independent digital films. All the films in the festival are made entirely by Walpole High School students. The goal of the Film Festival is to give the students the artistic avenue of film as an outlet for them to enhance their talents in screenwriting, film production, film directing, film editing, on-screen acting, music composition and art direction.
Complete list of 2017 Winners:
Best Film: “The Promposal” (Ava Straccia and Nicole Waters)
Best Director: Ava Straccia and Nicole Waters (“The Promposal”)
Best Performance in a Lead Role: Mia Straccia (Jane)
Best Performance in a Supporting Role: Ava Straccia (“The Promposal”)
Best Screenplay: Ava Straccia and Nicole Waters (“The Promposal”)
Best Art Direction: Kayla Frost, Haley DiMartino, Katherine Griffin, Vrinda Iyer (“Alice”)
Best Editing: Dan Mullen, Dana DeMartino, Liv Claus (“Elsewhere”)
Best Achievement in Music: Jake Witherell (“The Cone,” “Gossip Loop,” “Contra”)
Best Cinematography: Gayle McAdams, Jeff Clapp, Liv Pratt (“Contra”)
Best Faculty Performance: Connor Cashman
Honorary Award: Anthony Conti
