Saturday, January 12, 2008

Satit Kaset International Student Film Awards


Well since coming to Satit Kaset International I have had a small influence on the school's English department. I think, in general, it is my laziness that makes me want to bend things into a shape that I can better work with and do well with. Just like my teaching in the US, I have focused my theoretical concepts, such as teaching theme, metaphor, irony, and the development of dramatic narrative by using film. The young people today have been raised on movies and with this background I find I can access, reach, and teach them. So when Austin Bush, a former teacher here, wanted to begin a film contest for one of his classes, I took this idea and ran with it for the entire school.
This year is our fourth annual student film contest which we call in honor of Austin Bush, the AUSTINS. It is a film festival that has not only improved in the participation of it from a one class assignment to a grades 9-12 open competition, but the quality of English spoken in the films, the style of direction, the acting (maybe Speedy is helping us out there) and especially the creativity of the films has been developing.
This little video will be boring unless your one of the students who gets their name called for an award, but I thought I'd put it up just to give them a few more seconds of FAME!
Next year will be the 5Th annual Austins and it is going to be BIGGER than EVER and already a few of the groups are tinkering with script ideas and organizing their teams. Who knows, maybe someday one of our students will elect not to go to business school like their parents want them to and they may opt to run away to California and attend FILM SCHOOL. That would probably get me fired, but I'd take it as a little personal victory.