Viewers in suits, dresses, and semi-formal wear surround gold poles accompanied by red velvet rope. In front of them, family, friends, members of the Film Association, contributors, and film students pose for photos on the red carpet. Just a few minutes later, members of the audience are directed into Meyer Hall to seat themselves for the show. The lights dim, and announcements are made: “Welcome to Streaming Canvas 2025.”
“Dani (Film Association co-president and communications senior Daniela Peñafiel) and I both are really happy to host an event (to) show everybody all these amazing projects that their peers have been working on and give their families a chance to come in and see them,” Film Association co-president and communications senior Lily Kaminski said. “It’s a special opportunity.”
The annual event, a cumulative showcase displaying film works of students across the school, took months of planning. Film Association officers began the process of selecting pieces and organizing the event early in the school year.
“We created a spreadsheet and put all the submissions on there, and then we would go through and put comments on them,” Kaminski said. “We made some ads and put them on DSOA Today to get the word out there (to) make sure people knew that it was happening.”
Those who planned on attending the event had to reserve a seat beforehand. The crowd was a mix of individuals spanning from students, teachers, parents, siblings, and family friends all attending for different reasons.
“I decided to come because my friends were gonna be in it and to support them,” band freshman Atreyu Lara Castillo said. “I’ve never seen any student films from the school, so I was interested in that.”
The lineup of films was vast, each one offering unique visuals and telling a different story. Videos shown included “La Vida Cubana,” a collection of photos from a Cuban family party; comical pieces such as “Brooklyn 99: Return of the Mac”; and “Algebra Won,” and more somber projects like “Dear Future Me,” showing students reading out letters written for their future selves interwoven with home videos of their childhood.
“I was like: ‘What if we did something where we have some of our friends write letters to their future selves, and we get some archival footage of them when they were younger?’” communications junior Carys Coleman, one of the creators of “Dear Future Me,” said. “We made it this nostalgic, heartwarming, touching piece, and I was getting to see a part of my friends that I haven’t seen before.”
Streaming Canvas not only brought attention to those in front of and behind the camera but the minds behind the script. With a segment between the assortment of film pieces highlighting the script makers, the audience’s attention was directed towards students who specialize in story crafting.
“These (scripts and videos) are all student made with little to no budget,” communications senior Jason Monaco said. “But there’s a lot of creativity here. There’s a lot of hard work, good work ethic, a great community, and a lot of good camaraderie between our film students.”
The screening was concluded with a senior self-portrait compilation and a closing speech from the co-presidents, a moment recounting their passion for film, experiences over the past few years, and appreciation for the event.
“I feel like the communications department, especially with our publications, is so focused on showcasing the other art areas that we never really get a time to showcase ourselves,” Monaco said. “It’s so meaningful and moving that people are showing up from all around the county to support, even if it’s just by seeing our art.”
