George and Ballard High School Filmmakers on KPLU

Last August, I came home to Seattle for a few weeks to unwind and relax. During that time, I was invited back to Ballard High School by Matt Lawrence to talk to his video students and show them my latest work, Kiss Me, I'm English and NYZ.

Gary Davis, who runs the local Artscape program on KPLU came by to interview former and current Ballard video students in a piece that just came out last night called "Following Aristotle: Ballard High's Storytellers."

Also featured in the piece were fellow BHS alum Madison Murphy and current students Blair Scott and Emily Deering, plus a look at Reflection, produced by Blair Scott and Sheridan Koehler.

Listen to the audio and read the full article on the KPLU website!

Day 285

(Technically: 431)

88 Days ago I was in Seattle, where I screened Kiss Me, I'm English and a rough cut of NYZ to a bunch of video students at Ballard High School, where we discussed them and talked about how I can change my latest cut to make it better. It's come a long way since then.

But also while I was there, so was Gary Davis, who runs the local Artscacpe feature on KPLU and he was doing a piece about Ballard filmmakers, capturing our post-screening discussion and critique of my film and even interviews with current BHS students in an article called "Following Aristotle: Ballard High's Filmmakers."

Listen to the audio highlights and read the full article on the KPLU Artscape website!

"Kiss Me" at NYU Film Festival!

This Friday marks the premiere of Kiss Me, I'm English.

New Visions and Voices Intermediate Film Festival 2010

November 5th at 7:30pm in Room 200 at the Cantor Film Center on West 8th Street and University Place, New York.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Drama, the Story and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Kiss Me, I'm English
Should ever be forgot.

Admission is free and Kiss Me, I'm English is only one of many more NYU short films playing as part of the film festival. Hope to see you there!

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From the Vault...

Part of selected Ballard student works for the Seattle Channel.

A Message From George Westberg: The Showing Blip

Tonight was The Showing at Ballard High School, which is held at the end of every semester to showcase the best short films made by the students in the BHS Video Production Program. Although I was unable to attend, I made a little cameo appearance via "satellite" to make a plug for the program (and to shamelessly plug NYZ!).

"The Showing" January 28 at 7pm

If you are in the Seattle area, please check out the first screening of the new decade featuring new and original work by students at the Ballard High School Video Production Program. The Showing will be Thursday, January 28th at 7pm in the BHS auditorium. Included will be news features, advertisements, anti-advertisements, public service announcements, and short comedies and dramas. Admission is free, but there is a suggested $5 donation. Be sure to arrive early--prior screenings have filled the auditorium and unfortunately people have been turned away.

Alas, I am in currently New York City and cannot make it, but I highly urge anyone and everyone who can to go see some fresh and exciting new short movies by young student filmmakers!

BHS is where I got my start in filmmaking, and the program there fosters a creative environment where students can collaborate on expressing their artistic talents in unique and liberating ways!

"Bittersweet" on IMDb!

Thanks to my latest film, Time Keeps On Skippin', I now have a page on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)! And thanks to that, I was able to create a page for Bittersweet! Check it out here!

"Time Keeps on Skippin'" Screens at Ballard High School

Tonight we had a special screening of "Time Keeps on Skippin'" at Ballard High School, followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew and myself.

It was a lot of fun not only to see it up on the big screen for the first time with a live audience, but also to see some of the cast and crew once again!

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"Bittersweet" Coming to a TV Near You!

The Seattle Channel and the Northwest Film Forum have been running a program called Reel Short Movies, which is designed to present the best in local short films.  And one entire episode will exclusively feature shorts from Ballard High School, including Bittersweet!

The episode will be cablecast on the Seattle Channel (channel 21) on Thursday November 27th at 9pm, Friday the 28th at 8pm, and Saturday the 29th at 11pm. The episode is also featured online at the Seattle Channel's website.

Enjoy!

"Bittersweet" and "Love is the Elle Word" at NFFTY!

Nearly two years later, Bittersweet is still going strong, screening at the National Film Festival For Talented Youth on Sunday March 30th as part of the festival's Family Cinema program. Bittersweet is one of two of my films screening at NFFTY this year, the other being my first independent short Love Is the Elle-Word, which premiered Saturday March 29th.

This is likely going to be Bittersweet's final film festival, marking the end of a long and fruitful run through the festival circuit. My thanks goes out to my friend, fellow classmate, and producer Coburn Erskine, who tirelessly championed this film (and since he was still a high school student, he was able to submit to more student festivals long after I had graduated!)

"Bittersweet" Wins at the Northwest Regional Emmys!

At the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards, Bittersweet received an Award For Excellence in Writing from the National Student Television Awards.

It was an amazing night as I got the chance to see Devan, Becca, and Coburn for the first time in a year as we got our pictures taken on the red carpet and rubbed elbows with members of Seattle's news media. And nothing quite beats that engraved logo that reads "The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences".  Very cool!

"Bittersweet" and "Soccer Dads" at Westport Youth Film Festival!

Bittersweet, thanks to the hard work of co-producer Coburn, was an Official Selection at the Westport Youth Film Festival, along with another one of our films, the lighthearted documentary Soccer Dads. Our two shorts were among six films by Ballard High School students that were made Official Selections.

"Bittersweet" and BHS Win at Northwest High School Film Festival

A year after its completion, Bittersweet finally screened at the Northwest High School Film Festival, where it received one of three Awards of Excellence in the Dramatic Narrative category. Ballard High School videos, all in all, walked away with 11 Awards of Excellence (a third of all the awards!) and nine honorable mentions, marking yet another consecutive year of Ballard domination.

Featured Article in Horizon Air Magazine

It's finally happened!  I've been featured in Horizon Air's in-flight magazine as part of an article of young filmmakers in the Pacific Northwest called "Fledgling Flimmakers."  If you're flying during the holidays, be sure to turn to page 10!

"Bittersweet" World Premiere!

Bittersweet made its world premiere at the 30th Annual Young People's Film and Video Awards on July 16th in Portland, Oregon, along with two other Ballard High School student films.