SPOTLIGHT: AAHSFF Official Selection Filmmaker, Kevin Chiu

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As press partners with the All-American High School Film Festival, we thought it would be an awesome idea to interview a few of these talented young filmmakers whose films were chosen for the AAHSFF Official Selection. For the next couple of weeks, we are spotlighting these filmmakers one by one, day by day. Find out what inspired their short film, who they aspire to be, where they see themselves in ten years, and more! Monday, we posted the first spotlight on finalist, Owen Grove, you can read it here, and yesterday, we posted our second spotlight on Luca Repola, you can read it here.

Check out our interview with Kevin Chiu, director of “More”

Name: Kevin Chiu
Film: More

Questionnaire:

What inspired you the most when making your short film?

‘More – (The Hunter Pixilation Project)’ is a project that came out of a desire to produce a film before I graduated from high school. Having spent the past 6 years at Hunter College High School, I had developed a strong tie to the community that existed there and I wanted to produce something that celebrated that community.

The inspiration came almost by coincidence after having watched Greg Jardin’s music video for Joey Ramones’ song on New York City and hearing Cheers Elephant’s hit single – ‘Leaves’.  The pixilation methodology used in Greg Jardin’s video to show the many different personalities that reside in NYC was something that I knew I would like to utilize to show the many characters that existed in the student body and faculty throughout the many facets of Hunter. In addition – the lyrics of ‘Leaves’ of which the core theme was that there was “more ways to be like you are” was something that I felt the people in my school needed to realize – that they are in fact incredible people.

Who do you look up to or aspire to be?

I always looked up to filmmakers doing short films like Al Benoit and Peter Lewis. I was never a feature films kinda guy only because I never had the time to sit down to watch through the films that most people would point to as their inspiration. Many of the short film makers I’ve looked up to weren’t big-time Hollywood directors and producers – just people closer to Earth working full time jobs and doing film in their spare time because they love it. That these directors can find the time to produce beautiful quality work without needing big money or production teams always hit it home for me that even the average guy like me can create great films.

What’s your fanspiration?

Completely unrelated – but I have not been able to stop listening to Lorde’s music – the 16 year old artist coming from New Zealand. Really, not a day goes by yet where I haven’t played ‘Royals’ or ‘Tennis Courts’ at least once. That girl manages to bring down the house while always keeping a mellow and dignified persona. She’s an enigma that I’m still trying to figure out – she doesn’t yell in your face with her body or loud lyrics – Lorde instead has a conversation with her listeners – and that’s something I respect.

If you could remake any film, what would it be and why?

I’d definitely have to redo M. Shyamalan rendition of ‘Avatar the Last Airbender’ – as someone who grew up with the series, the live action version of the animated series just does not capture the spirit which made Avatar so great to watch!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I’m currently in college for civil engineering – and I might just end up still pursuing engineering as a career, working on next-gen construction. On the side though, I will be continuing to produce short films. I can’t ever see myself putting down the craft – working with talented musicians and actors, telling stories to people and entertaining an audience is something I take immense joy in doing. Who’d ever want to stop doing the things they love, right?

ABOUT AAHSFF

This year New York City is hosting the first annual ALL-AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL FILM FESTIVAL, giving students a chance to showcase their short films on the big screen. There is an All-American Basketball Game, and many similar ‘All-American High School’ competitions but nothing for film – a genre young people are embracing at breakneck speed. The festival is the brainchild of award-winning filmmaker Andrew Jenks. His films have been distributed by HBO and ESPN and his critically acclaimed documentary series, ‘World of Jenks’ is currently casting for season three. At age 16, Jenks founded a local High School Film Festival. Ten years later, his initial idea has turned into an opportunity for young filmmakers to showcase their talent. We have received nearly 1,000 amazing submissions from over 40 states as well as Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands and France.

Author: Melissa Frost

A recent college graduate from The University of Texas at Austin. Interests include but are not limited to ... film, fashion, and music. Currently working as a social media coordinator at a digital entertainment industry agency. On the weekends, works as a PA for some high-profile productions. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram!