Why Film Matters: 6th Annual Avon Scholarship Essay Competition

The Avon Theatre Film Center Board of Directors is pleased to announce the Sixth Annual Avon Scholarship Essay Contest. The scholarship awards will be presented at a ceremony at 7:15pm a the theatre on June 2, 2015 prior to the screening of the new documentary, Rubble Kings. The contest is open to high school seniors in both public and private schools throughout Fairfield and Westchester Counties.

Students are asked to submit a 500 – 700 word essay on “Why Film Matters” based on a film they have seen that opened in 2014 or 2015.

The film could be a feature, documentary, short, American or foreign. They were also asked to write about how film, in general, impacts our society. The deadline for submission is Saturday, May 16. To download an Avon Scholarship Contest application, visit: www.avontheatre.org

Each essay will be read by two independent judges, all of whom are professional writers, script writers or media publishing executives. The top finalists will then be read by two additional judges, who will select the final winners. This year our judges will include:

Ann Caron: Psychologist and author of books on teens

Mimi Cohen: Retired educator and secondary school administrator

Mark Evens: Former executive at Scholastic Magazine

Beth Levine: Freelance journalist & health writer

Arlene Mark: Author, Poet & Greenwich Pen Women

Jack Moffly: Founder & Publisher of Moffly Media

Donna Moffly: Founding editor of Moffly Media

Diane Cohen Schneider: Retired Wall Street executive and novelist

Sue Baker, Avon Board member and chair of the Avon Education Initiative Committee, will introduce the winners and present them with prizes totaling $7,500.

Scholarship monies are funded from donations to the Avon Red Carpet Festival and the Avon Annual Appeal. The winners’ scholarship checks are made out to the university or college each student plans to attend. The Avon Scholarship winners in 2014 included:

  • First Place ($2,000): Jonna Mosoff, Greenwich High — Georgetown University
  • Second Place ($1,500): Craig Henning, Westhill High — University of Miami
  • Third Place ($1,000): Nicole Frederick, Westhill High – University of North Carolina
  • Honorable Mention ($500 each): Sadie-Rose Apfel, Westhill High – Brandeis University
  • Bradley Darling, Westhill High – Babson College
  • Lizzy Flood – King School – The College of William & Mary
  • Charles Khosla – Rye Country Day School – University of Chicago
  • Bennett Leeds, Stamford High – University of Miami
  • Jenna Polidoro – Westhill High – Ohio University

The Avon Theatre Film Center is a member-supported non-profit first-run art house showcasing the best in independent, foreign, classic, documentary, and cult classic films. The Avon, a Bedford Street landmark, has been restored to its original 1939 vintage appearance and is celebrating over 75 years of timeless elegance. As part of its mission, the Avon is dedicated to teaching educators and students about film as an art form. Throughout the school year, the Avon welcomes students to view films that enhance their curriculum, such as the documentary that will be screened on June 2, Rubble Kings, which will also feature a post-film Q & A with award-winning filmmaker and director Shan Nicholson. The film is an important chronicle of New York City gang culture in the 1970s and its influence on the birth of hip hop. The story will resonate with young people today in that the film records how a few extraordinary forgotten people did the impossible and how their actions impacted New York City and beyond.

For further information, call 203-550-2697 or email [email protected]