In The News

High school students gain reel experience as SC film industry develops

When Isaac Cinnamon created his short film for the 2023 Young Filmmakers Project, it required several weeks of long working hours, plenty of glue and approximately 7,000 playing cards.

The outcome? A stop-motion film told on the faces of cards that follows the arc of a romantic relationship in just two minutes. The recent Summerville High School graduate won the first-place prize at the statewide film competition in mid-May.

The competition, hosted by the South Carolina Film Commission and Trident Technical College, highlights high school-level talent in South Carolina and people’s efforts to build out the film industry in the state.

South Carolina has had a few big-name productions in recent years, including HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” and Netflix’s “Outer Banks.” But states such as Georgia, California, Texas and New Mexico continue to dominate the film industry. Low financial incentives deter many productions from coming to the Palmetto State, said Matt Storm, director of the S.C. Film Commission.

The commission, a division of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, aims to recruit and develop the motion picture industry. Among the group’s initiatives are the Indie Grants, which give filmmakers $20,000 to $35,000 to create narrative short-film projects in South Carolina. During production, a Trident Tech film student is brought onto the crew to work under professionals for hands-on training.

The grants have been good branding for South Carolina, said Brad Jayne, an independent filmmaker and producer of the Indie Grants. Past projects have gone on to big film festivals, including Sundance and Tribeca.

The commission also aims to grow filmmakers from the ground up. That’s where the Young Filmmakers Project enters the scene.

[read more | source: The Post and Courier Columbia]