Ryan Levine dreamed of submitting his films to competitions and festivals. But very few existed for kids his age. So the 14-year-old created his own last year. On Nov. 10 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the second annual Kids Film It Festival showcases five-minute films made by 8- to 18-year-olds and raises money for Parkinson’s disease research. Levine tells us about his love for film. kidsfilmitfestival.com
When I was about 7 years old, I loved acting. I did an iPad moviemaking summer camp, and the next summer I did a filmmaking camp at [Hawken Middle School] run by my friend.
We would focus a lot on different techniques like jump cuts and making people disappear. My friend and I made a film about two friends who went on a quest to find treasure. We pretty much filmed the whole thing on our own. We made our own green screen out of green paper, and we used an iPad app. I really liked it, so my passion just kept growing. I think it’s great other kids are interested in filmmaking, and they’re using this as a way to share their films. — as told to James Bigley II
