Young creatives are the filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, choreographers of tomorrow. Their vision of the world comes from 21st Century eyes, minds and hearts. Let's celebrate the last day of KIDS FIRST!'s 30th Anniversary by celebrating our young filmmakers.
A panel discussion with the creators of the student films shown during this segment and the entire festival.
Moderator: Eshaan Mani (age 15), lives in Houston, TX. He loves watching movies and telling stories! Joining KIDS FIRST! allows him to explore storytelling within the realm of movies. He hopes to provide an enjoyable and reliable retelling of his experience of watching movies to KIDS FIRST! audiences. Eshaan loves musical theatre, playing videogames, spending time with family and friends, writing, exploring new cuisines, traveling, and watching films. Eshaan is a huge fan of the Bourne series for their intricate plotlines. His favorite actor is Matt Damon because most of Damon’s films are masterpieces, thanks to his believable acting and hard work. Eshaan reported for Time for Kids magazine in 2019-2020 and one of his highlights was covering the Democratic Debate in Houston where he scored a moment with Sen. Kamala Harris. We think you'll love him as much as we do. Online portfolio. Eshaan's playlist is here.
Panelists include:
THINGS TO REMEMBER director, producer, Micah Seidel is a 16-year-old documentary and fiction filmmaker from Highland Park, NJ. He strives to tell realistic stories in a meaningful and impactful way.
Steven Hoffen is 13 years old and lives in New York City. He likes playing board and video games with his brother and learning about technology. He’s especially interested in how to combat climate change and build a better future for Jews and Arabs. GROWING PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST is his first documentary film.
Ryan Chu, director, DEEP FEARS, is a first-generation Taiwanese-American who was born and raised in Southern California, currently lives in Orange County. He is an alumnus of California State University Long Beach earning a BFA Animation degree in 2020. Aside from doing art stuff, he loves everything otter-related and is a weapon hobbyist that enjoys safe shooting at the range.
Alexander Coleman, filmmaker, LONELY WOODS, is an animator and high school student living in Vancouver, Canada.
Stacy Li, creator, THE DOG WHO BROUGHT HOME THE SUN, is a computer science major who has a passion for animating and hopes to be able to tell all sorts of stories through the creative lens of animation.
Alex Gordillo, Director, INTERFACE, is a visual development artist based out of Orange, CA. He recently graduated from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts with a degree in Digital Arts.
Grady Roderweiss-O'Brien (age 12) was 10 when he made THE IMPOSSIBLE WAY, which has been in 5 other film festivals. He attends The Children’s School in Oak Park, IL and is a vegetarian. His mom is a filmmaker and college professor. His dad is an author.
Young creatives are the filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, choreographers of tomorrow. Their vision of the world comes from 21st Century eyes, minds and hearts. Let's celebrate the last day of KIDS FIRST!'s 30th Anniversary by celebrating our young filmmakers.
A panel discussion with the creators of the student films shown during this segment and the entire festival.
Moderator: Eshaan Mani (age 15), lives in Houston, TX. He loves watching movies and telling stories! Joining KIDS FIRST! allows him to explore storytelling within the realm of movies. He hopes to provide an enjoyable and reliable retelling of his experience of watching movies to KIDS FIRST! audiences. Eshaan loves musical theatre, playing videogames, spending time with family and friends, writing, exploring new cuisines, traveling, and watching films. Eshaan is a huge fan of the Bourne series for their intricate plotlines. His favorite actor is Matt Damon because most of Damon’s films are masterpieces, thanks to his believable acting and hard work. Eshaan reported for Time for Kids magazine in 2019-2020 and one of his highlights was covering the Democratic Debate in Houston where he scored a moment with Sen. Kamala Harris. We think you'll love him as much as we do. Online portfolio. Eshaan's playlist is here.
Panelists include:
THINGS TO REMEMBER director, producer, Micah Seidel is a 16-year-old documentary and fiction filmmaker from Highland Park, NJ. He strives to tell realistic stories in a meaningful and impactful way.
Steven Hoffen is 13 years old and lives in New York City. He likes playing board and video games with his brother and learning about technology. He’s especially interested in how to combat climate change and build a better future for Jews and Arabs. GROWING PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST is his first documentary film.
Ryan Chu, director, DEEP FEARS, is a first-generation Taiwanese-American who was born and raised in Southern California, currently lives in Orange County. He is an alumnus of California State University Long Beach earning a BFA Animation degree in 2020. Aside from doing art stuff, he loves everything otter-related and is a weapon hobbyist that enjoys safe shooting at the range.
Alexander Coleman, filmmaker, LONELY WOODS, is an animator and high school student living in Vancouver, Canada.
Stacy Li, creator, THE DOG WHO BROUGHT HOME THE SUN, is a computer science major who has a passion for animating and hopes to be able to tell all sorts of stories through the creative lens of animation.
Alex Gordillo, Director, INTERFACE, is a visual development artist based out of Orange, CA. He recently graduated from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts with a degree in Digital Arts.
Grady Roderweiss-O'Brien (age 12) was 10 when he made THE IMPOSSIBLE WAY, which has been in 5 other film festivals. He attends The Children’s School in Oak Park, IL and is a vegetarian. His mom is a filmmaker and college professor. His dad is an author.
