Westchester Insider: LMC Launches Student Filmmaker Residency Program.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: LMC Media Announces Future Filmmaker Residency Program.

LMC Media announces the creation of a new residency program to support and showcase local student filmmakers, debuting work from Sara Ettinger and announcing Bella Pianko.

 

(Mamaroneck, New York, April 12^th, 2023) – LMC Media is pleased to announce the successful launch of the Future Filmmaker program featuring Sara Ettinger and Bella Pianko. Matt Sullivan, LMC’s Executive Director, said, “Fostering a love of storytelling in the next generation is crucial to fulfilling our mission of connecting the community through media. I’m thrilled that we can provide the resources and platform for students to hone and share their craft with the world. We hope to find additional funding to support and grow this program so we can continue to bring this opportunity to as many students as possible.” 

About the program: Each semester, a local high school student is chosen to serve as LMC’s resident student filmmaker, and any interested student can apply. Students are hired by LMC and given access to a full suite of filmmaking equipment. Students can create, film, and edit on their own schedule during their residency, which makes this opportunity more accessible to today’s busy students. In addition to equipment, LMC also provides pre-production, production, and post-production guidance from professional filmmaking staff, as well as a budget, actors, and filming schedule with deadlines. This program is unique — there are no other programs in the Sound Shore area that provide a direct pipeline from high school filmmaking programs to a paid, professional experience like the Future Filmmaker residency. Students complete three short films during their residency and receive stipends for each. This program not only provides a professional framework for students to gain real-world experience, it gives voice to the teen experience and brings their vision of the community into the spotlight. 

About Sara Ettinger, Inaugural Future Filmmaker, Winter Semester, 2023: Sara is an aspiring filmmaker who is involved in the Mamaroneck High School video program with Elena Elmoznino, and attributes her interest in pursuing film to her school program. “Having this specialized space specifically dedicated to filmmaking, movies, and everything really makes a difference. You’re able to make these connections with people you wouldn’t have met otherwise, hear opinions you never even thought of, or movies you never even heard of. I think that’s part of why having a video program in school is so important: it’s just shaped me into the filmmaker that I am today.” This kind of passion is what led to Sara’s selection as the first local student to participate with LMC as a Future Filmmaker. Sara has been accepted to NYU to study film this fall. You can see her short films for LMC here: https://lmcmedia.org/future-filmmakers/

About Bella Pianko, Future Filmmaker, Spring Semester, 2023: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Bella to the LMC team as our next student filmmaker," said Dena Schumacher, creator of the program, and Assistant Director at LMC. “Working with Sara Ettinger, our first student filmmaker, was such a fulfilling experience for our team and our viewers. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback about the program from Sara and from the community, and we’re excited to develop and grow this program with Bella.” Bella is a sophomore at Mamaroneck High School and participates in the filmmaking program at MHS under the guidance of Elena Elmoznino. She said of her upcoming LMC residency, “I’m so excited to be able to participate in the Future Filmmaker program. I think it’s a really great opportunity for me to show my passion to the community and I’m really excited to get started!”

You can learn more and apply for the program at this link: https://lmcmedia.org/future-filmmakers/

If you are interested in supporting the program, please reach out to Francile Albright, Director of Development, at falbright@lmcmedia.org. 

Larchmont-Mamaroneck Community Television (LMC Media) was founded in 1983 as a non-profit organization under section 501 (C) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Act. LMC Media’s mission is to connect, create, and inform the community through the use of digital media. In today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world, the ability to successfully communicate, create and connect across a range of platforms is a crucial skill set. As a center for teaching and learning, as a highly accessible source of local news and information, as a channel for communication and commentary about the issues that matter most to our community, LMC Media is an invaluable community asset.