George School Students Among Big Winners at Film Festival

Shumpei Chosa ’19 was George School’s big winner at the 2019 Greenfield Youth Film Festival on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. He took home three top prizes including Best Music Video for Love to Share, Best Film Noir for Red as Blood, and second place Documentary for Peace Together. Owen Lee ’20 won Best Movie Poster.

Shumpei filmed Peace Together while on a service learning trip to Rwanda. “I was moved by the genuine kindness of the people there which contributed to the fast reconciliation between people and rebuilding such a beautiful and peaceful country after a horrific genocide in 1994,” Shumpei said.

For the music video, Love to Share, Shumpei said that as soon as he heard the song by Will Vamos ’18 and Jordan Waintraub ’21, he knew he wanted to help make a video. “I wanted to make a film that captured the upbeat and cheerful message of the song,” he said. “After the festival, I received a letter from one of the judges, who is the CEO at a music film production company, asking me to contact him to discuss more about the music video and possibly work together.”

Red as Blood is Shumpei’s IB collaborative film. He served as director and worked with John Hudson Fort ’19 on cinematography, Maddie Keith ’19 as producer and sound designer, and Shaina Gonzales ’19 as writer.

As a sophomore, Shumpei attended the Greenfield Youth Film Festival and it helped shape his passion for film. “I watched the seniors win awards and it became my biggest motivation to continue producing films. I hope that my awards were able to inspire and motivate the younger George School students as filmmakers,” said Shumpei.

Next year, Shumpei will study entertainment media production and business at New York University’s Steinhardt School. “I am grateful for the George School film program for helping me nurture my passion for film, and the community for being supportive and encouraging along the way,” said Shumpei.