Student Filmmaker Competition

A very special thank you to all of the student filmmakers who submitted artistic work to the 2020 JCC Chicago Jewish Film Festival Student Filmmaker Competition. This year, we had 31 entries that were narrowed down to ten finalists from seven Chicago area high schools and three colleges. The winning films will be shown on Sunday, March 1 at the Landmark Renaissance Place Cinema in Highland Park.

2020 Winners

Jules Brown
Winner High School Category – Thief

New Trier High School

Mohan Karthik Karnati
Winner College/Graduate School Category – Hate and Guilt

Columbia College Chicago

See the Winning Films

Sunday, March 1 @ 1:00pm

Landmark Renaissance Place Cinema in Highland Park
Tickets available at the door.

2021 Submissions

Submissions for 2021 will open in September

We are grateful to our guest judges for lending time and talent to help foster the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers:

ELI ADLER is a professional cinematographer/director. He’s won numerous awards, including the CINE Golden Eagle and two National Emmys. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, he has filmed several Holocaust-related films, including Hope Out of the Ashes (1985), Loosening The Grip (1999), filmed in Berlin and Auschwitz, and One Day In Auschwitz (2015), produced by The Shoah Foundation to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. His acclaimed film, Surviving Skokie was part of the 2016 JCC Chicago Jewish Film Festival.

GAIL GENDLER is an accomplished digital and television acquisitions executive with extensive experience licensing content for TV and on-demand platforms. She’s the founder of Buffalo Girl Productions, a boutique consulting company focused on content acquisitions, editorial and programming strategies. Gail previously served as Head of Programming at Fandor. She was Vice President of Acquisitions for AMC Networks/Sundance Channel Global, and worked at IFC, Showtime and the NBC Network.

KATHERINE O’BRIEN is a writer, filmmaker, and creative consultant, operating in Hollywood and throughout the international marketplace for over 15 years. She is on the faculty at The Harold Ramis Film School at The Second City, and an adjunct faculty instructor at DePaul University and Columbia College Chicago. She creates comedic, dramatic, and documentary content for film, television, and the digital space. Additionally, she provides expert story analysis, coverage, and script consultation for some of Hollywood’s most respected companies, as well as internationally and critically acclaimed filmmakers.