The Family School Association (FSA) of The Ethical Community Charter School and the FSA Performing Arts Program, together with THISLEARNING, have recently announced that their live-action short film LIKE US has been accepted into the Golden Door International Film Festival! LIKE US will be screening at the Loew’s Jersey Theatre as part of the Golden Door International Film Festival on September 21st. The trailer just went live on August 16th – check it out on Facebook!

LIKE US is a unique project directed by Kris Van Nest with assistant director Ann E. Wallace. Students who participated went through a 10-week screenwriting process where they were challenged to tell a story with an ethical dilemma at its center and include a large cast of student actors. From casting to film production, students were involved in every stop of the process to learn what it takes to create a film. The student screenwriting team includes Arko Arditya, Abigail Wallace Burch, Ariyana Clinton, Tala Issa, Kate Lester, Leo McCartin, Billie Jo Rivero, William Santomauro, Daphne Stifelman, and Stevie Vago, assisted by Kris Van Nest and Ann E. Wallace. LIKE US also stars nearly 60 student actors, all making their on-camera debut, and introduces Jonah Briggs, Holloway Cunningham, Leo Frohwirth, Billie Jo Rivero, and Sofia Santomauro in leading roles.

The Family School Association’s Performing Arts program provided an extracurricular movie-making opportunity with professional educator and producer Kris Van Nest during the 2018-19 school year. LIKE US raises awareness of the nature of bullying and serves as a prevention tool to be shared with other schools. It also raises awareness for issues of childhood homelessness, gender identity, ovarian cancer, and parental death. The film is made in memory of Tony Award Winner and Theater Hall of Fame Inductee Marin Mazzie, who passed away from ovarian cancer last September. Mazzie was a supporter of arts education and a long-time client and friend of the program’s volunteer director, Kim Correro.

Don’t miss out on the chance to watch LIKE US. You can purchase tickets to the premiere now: https://thislearning.com/LIKEUS