The closing of the high school division of the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival has altered the trajectory of Greenhill’s Advanced Video Production (AVP) class.

The SXSW festival holds a film portion where films from around the country are chosen to be screened, critiqued and honored by a panel of experienced judges. This had been a tradition for many years at Greenhill, where students submitted their creations to the high school division.

These Greenhill students would compete against a multitude of other high school students around the country and spent time in Austin, Texas, viewing all the finalist films.

Upper School Visual Arts teacher Corbin Doyle first found out that the high school division was canceled when he realized that the online submission box was not available to be clicked. Doyle reached out to his colleagues at SXSW, and he was informed of the news.

“My gut was saying something was weird, and my colleagues at South by Southwest told me there’s not going to be a high school section for 2023,” said Doyle.

However, Doyle had already made alternate plans: he planned for students to spend more time on their films and redo the AVP program, with the wrinkle of not submitting to SXSW.

“We are not going to be producing at the end of December and be able to submit to South by Southwest, so I’m not making it a supposition of the class that we all submit,” said Doyle.

Nonetheless, a collection of students, such as senior Teja Mettu and junior Krish Mysoor, submitted to the professional level of the festival.

“I think for us, it increased the emphasis on serving to other film festivals because we didn’t get the option into the category itself that we were expecting to submit to,” said Mettu.

Doyle was content with how events unfolded.

“It was this weird and crazy thing that came together for the right reasons,” Doyle said.

Although Doyle shared a more positive outlook, students felt that the ending of the high school division caused a bit of a damper, given that this long-lasting tradition no longer existed.

“[The students] were really upset, heartbroken and mad,” said Doyle. “Many of them thought it wasn’t even real.”

Senior Teja Mettu and Junior Krish Mysoor felt both upset and inspired to create other films when this news was released.

“I can see that for some, it was pretty devastating, but for other people,e it may have helped in the sense that they’re able to sit back a little bit and think about what they want to do,” said Mettu.

The feeling was very odd when Mettu and Mysoor were told that the division was canceled because they had been preparing throughout the beginning of the first semester.

“I think that for us, it was weird because we didn’t know that the high school division was canceled until very late,” said Mysoor.

However, SXSW is not the only film festival students apply to. Doyle feels that there is a new opportunity to explore different film festivals and experiences.

“I want everyone to send their films into other festivals because it’s the act of taking an object that you’ve made with care and pride and putting it out in the world,” said Doyle.

Students showcase their films on Vimeo and other streaming platforms for the Greenhill community, but the involvement in film festivals across the country sparks a different feeling.

“One gets to see their film in front of other [people], and you get to see [people] reacting to a film you made from nothing,” said Doyle.

In film festivals, professionals critique the film submissions, which provides feedback for AVP students. Doyle emphasized that there’s a multitude of film festivals that students can still submit to when they finish their films in late spring.

“We are sad that the high school division is gone, but there are other avenues, and that is what we are doing this year,” said Doyle.

The AVP program will focus on taking the time to create films and explore new film festivals. Below are the names of current students and alums that have submitted to film festivals around the country and have received recognition.

Alison – Lilly Thieberg ’22– 2

Oklahoma City University High School Film Festival

All American Film Festival

Wanslator – Teja Mettu Class of 2023 and Krish Mysoor Class of 2024 – 1

All American Film Festival

Valentines Night – Thomas Bozalis Class of 2023 – 23

Independent Shorts Awards – Finalist Best Student Film

SCREAM it off SCREEN Film Festival

GutterCast Film Festival

The Paus Premiere Festival

Drigo International Student Film Festival **Young Filmmakers Award

Amsterdam Short Film Festival **Best Student Film

Indie Short Fest – Semi Finalist Best Student Short

ViZ Film Fest – Finalist Best Short Film Director, Best Short Drama, Best Short Film

Top Shorts – Honorable Mention Best Student Film

IndieX Film Fest **Winner Outstanding Achievement Young Male Filmmaker Award

Pegasus Film Festival

All American Film Festival

Alternative Film Festival **Winner Super Short Film

Global Shorts **Winner for March Best Short Film

Dallas Shorts – Semi Finalist Best Student Short

Vegas Shorts **Best Student Film

Skiptown Playhouse International Film Festival

307 International Film Festival

BLUEIFF Channel – International Short Films

Screaming Ostrich Film Festival

Bloomington Indiana Film Festival

International Gullah Film Festival

Raleigh Film & Art Festival **Best Student Film

Apoc – Will McDonald ’22 and Teja Mettu Class of 2023 – 1

All American Film Festival

Ice Cubes – Aarian Dhanani ’22 – 2

Oklahoma City University High School Film Festival

Youth Diversity Film Festival

She’s Captivating – Zaynab Khan ’22 – 1

Pegasus Film Festival

Sueño Del Olvido – Jude Griffin ’22 – 1

Pegasus Film Festival

Little Soldier Boy – Isabel Garcia ’22 – 3

SCREAM it off SCREEN Film Festival

First-Time Filmmakers Festival

Sun Valley Film Festival – Honorable Mention

Teja Mettu Class of 2023 – YoungArts Merit Award – Film/Narrative

Krish Mysoor Class of 2024- YoungArts Merit Award – Writing/Play or Script

The new focus on promoting other film festivals and taking a longer period for students to hone their skills, has proven to be advantageous.

“Changing our program and not submitting to SXSW is a testament on how AVP always [has] the right intent of loving life and that making [films] is a gift of life,” said Doyle.