An excited group of seventh-graders danced down the red carpet at the premiere of the Second Annual “Bulldance Film Festival” Wednesday morning in the media center at the Becker Middle School.
The program featured eight student-produced film trailers, and was hosted by media specialist Holly Pringle, along with teachers Jenn Feierabend and Tonja Hanson in full Hollywood regalia that included sparkling gowns, fashion-forward hair and designer eye-wear to complete the picture.
The student films centered on environmental issues, such as the Honeybee Productions piece that depicted the collapse of bee colonies world-wide, and contained the sobering quote from Albert Einstein which predicted the demise of mankind “four years after the bees have gone.”
Other films dealt with the imminent extinction of the Hector dolphins, of which only 55 remain in the wild, deforestation of the planet, the plight of the giant Panda, the impending demise of the giant sea turtles, and the mass extinctions that threaten 10,000 animal species currently on the endangered species list.
First place in the peer-reviewed film entries went to Zeke Aho, Bryce Halvorson and Jack Schendel and their We Save Films production that detailed the exploitation and hunting of animals and birds for their fur and feathers. This short film, like many others in the series, contained many disturbing graphic images of the devastating results of uncontrolled hunting and fishing on the world animal population.
The festival also congratulated fellow student Victoria Gibson for her winning poster in a contest sponsored by the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources. Art teacher Tracy hare informed the audience that she had only just received a letter informing her of the contest results on the morning of the festival. Then entry, titled “Roadsides are for the Birds”, will be on display at the Minnesota State Fair later this summer, hare said.
