The New Jersey School Boards Association invites students to submit entries into its sponsored category of the annual Garden State Film Festival: “New Jersey Hometown Documentary Short.”

Films must be five minutes or less and focus on some aspect of the student’s hometown, which could be a profile of an interesting person, place, time period or subject related to the arts.

Entries must be documentary film shorts that are written, directed and shot by students.

Winners will be showcased in the prestigious annual Garden State Film Festival, announced at the festival and receive all the benefits of selected filmmakers. The student film nominees and their respective schools/counties are also screened at NJSBA’s annual Workshop in October.

The winning school district will also receive $500 to support film/video equipment for the curriculum. Winners will be announced in March.

The deadline to submit an entry is Jan. 6, 2025.

To enter a student film in the NJSBA-sponsored category, students should visit the Garden State Film Festival website and look for: STUDENT | New Jersey Hometown Documentary Short | NJSBA-New Jersey School Boards Association. 

You can begin submitting your student films now.  It’s a great summer project for your students.

If you have questions or need more information, contact Robin Kampf, digital media producer at the NJSBA, via email.

Learn more about the Garden State Film Festival.