5th Annual Cherokee Student Film Festival Celebrates High School Filmmakers The Cherokee Office of Economic Development (COED), in partnership with the Cherokee County School District’s (CCSD) Audio/Video Technology and Film (AVTF) educators, announced the winners of the 5th annual Cherokee Student Film Festival as part of a live screening and awards presentation held at Sequoyah HS's Skip Pope Stadium. Student films were screened on the Jumbotron, as more than 200 audience members cheered on a record 25 groups of student filmmakers from across the county.With strict parameters designed to simulate production requirements, 13 groups of students met criteria for judging. Qualifying submissions were judged by regional post-secondary film instructors Dr. James Hamilton (University of Georgia), Steven Hames (Berry College), Meredith Muse (Chattahoochee Technical College), along with Brent Lambert-Zaffino (Peaberry Film Festival founder), Richard Tavernaro (Cobb International Film Festival director), Justin Webb (media producer), and retired CNN Control Room Director Mark Hylback.Awards were issued based on the judges’ total scores in the following categories: Best Cinematography, Best Sound Quality, Best Use of Prop, Best Use of Line, and Best of Show. Festival attendees were able to cast votes in the Audience Choice category.And the Winners Are:“I'm not a Psychopath” — Best of Show, Best Use of Prop, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Quality, Best Use of Line, and Audience Choice Award Created by Sequoyah HS’s Noah Popp, Justin Clark, Lauren Turnage, and Ava Roberts “The First Day of Spring” — Runner up Best of Show and Best Use of LineCreated by Creekview HS’s Logan Carr, Jackson Estapa, and Chloe Feibus “Bound” — 3rd place Best of ShowCreated by Etowah HS’s Sophia Berry, Marissa Migneco, and Kaili Phillips“Growing Older” — Audience Choice AwardCreated by Sequoyah HS’s Aidan Murphy and Kayla Murphy“The Movie” — Audience Choice AwardCreated by Cherokee HS’s Mackenzie Glover, Daniel Reilly, Hunter Schwartz, and Hunter Tadin To learn more about film in Cherokee and to view the 2023 Cherokee Student Film Festival winning entries, visit CherokeeGa.org/film-media.