| In Memory of a Great Educator |
It was with great sadness that we learned of Terry
McElhatton’s untimely death this week. The SI DocFest Team extends its most
sincere condolences to the McElhatton family and the Valley Christian
community. Mr. McElhatton was one of the first educators to support and endorse
the SI DocFest’s mission and goals. We were so impressed and honored by his enthusiasm
and decision to incorporate the film contest into his video production class
curriculum. In our first year, Valley Christian was the school with the most
entries submitted to the SI DocFest because
of Mr. McElhatton. It was for that reason that we honored him at our
festival this past February with a special distinction.
Though he was leaving Valley Christian for a position at San
Jose State in the fall, he emailed us just a few weeks ago to vow his
continuing support for the SI DocFest 2009 and offered to keep mentoring Valley
students with their videos for the upcoming festival. Mr. McElhatton was one of
our greatest ambassadors and, overall, a wonderful person that we feel blessed
to have known. He truly embodied our slogan: he made a “reel” difference by encouraging
his students to produce meaningful documentaries. Mr. McElhatton will be truly missed
but his memory lives on in all the students whose lives he touched and whose
passions he ignited. May God bless his family and friends in this difficult
time.
Sincerely,
The SI DocFest Team
July 1, 2008
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Pre-registration for the SI DocFest 2009 is NOW OPEN Attention filmmakers: get a head start on your docs this summer!
Click here for the forms:
PDF version, Word version
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About the SI DocFest
dogooddocs proudly presents the 2nd Annual Social Issues Documentary Film Contest (SI DocFest). The SI DocFest is designed to attract young filmmakers who feel compelled to share the stories of individual(s) or organizations that have made (or are making) a major difference in our community. It can be the story of a local teacher, political activist, or homeless shelter; one of the main goals of the SI DocFest is to highlight an individual or non-profit organization's message of social responsibility in a meaningful documentary film.
In order to be eligible, participants must be full-time Bay Area high school students enrolled in the fall semester of 2008. Students can work alone or in a team (maximum of 3) to interview an individual or organization, understand in detail what they are doing to improve our community, and produce an 8-12 minute film about their work. Pre-registration (contact information and a project proposal) will be open until October 31st, with the final cut of the film due in January.
The awards event will be held at the Camera Cinemas™, the official SI DocFest hosting sponsor, on February 8, 2009. Films will be judged by an expert panel, and the top three winners will receive $20,000 in prizes to be distributed among a designated non-profit profiled in the documentary, the school represented by the winning filmmaker(s), and the filmmaker(s) themselves (in the form of a cash scholarship.)
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CLICK
ON THE IMAGES TO THE RIGHT TO SEE THE SI DocFest COVERED ON NBC11's
"COMUNIDAD DEL VALLE" BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRST FESTIVAL. | | |
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Please continually check the website for full and up-to-date details on contest rules and regulations as dates and guidelines are subject to change.
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