Fort Hamilton High School’s clubs are filled with spirit and enthusiasm. With over seventy clubs, and more on the way, there is a place for everyone to explore their passions, meet new people, and learn new things. The newly founded Filmmaking Club embodies the club culture at Fort.
Director Joanna Ascher and Assistant Director Francesco Pedulla, with their advisor, Sarah Nicoll, create an environment where their fellow filmmakers can learn how to write, record, and edit their own screenplay, which they plan to screen to the Fort community.
Ascher decided to start the club because of her devotion to cinema, and her involvement in projects such as “A Wash of People” and “For Clyde,” which premieres in January of 2023. She is also working on a short film about Christmas with the J-walkers, Fort’s Chrsitian club; the film should air by the upcoming winter break. Ultimately, Ascher wanted to establish a group of students who shared her passion for filmmaking.
“The club is divided into two seasons, Documentary and Narrative. In the Documentary season, filmmakers learn the basics of filmmaking in the aspects of pre-production planning, interviewing, filming, and editing. Later on, the Narrative season is a chance for filmmakers to expand on this knowledge in a more personal manner by writing an original script, working on their own crews, and casting,” explained Ascher.
Currently, the crew is working on a documentary, based on the people of Bay Ridge, through the lens of John Badham’s 1977 film, Saturday Night Fever. They are interviewing Fort students, and local businesses, and capturing footage of locations featured in the original film.
“I’m leaning towards a major in film or creative writing one day, so this experience has been very informative for me. This club is definitely a good introduction to the world of film for anyone who might be interested in going into this field or for anyone purely joining for the fun of it,” said club member Yasmin Sotolongo.
If you are ready to reel yourself into action, stop by room 370 every Tuesday and become an official member of the Filmmaking crew!
