Fourth annual film competition this Friday at Astra

The Va Bene Film Challenge, created by Jasper natives Shalyn Grow and Asya Hildenbrand, will feature local students’ creative work on the Astra screen this Friday, May 1, for the fourth annual contest.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 7:00 p.m.

This is a FREE event, but a ticket is required. Donation optional. Get your tickets here.

In 2023, Shalyn Grow and Asya Hildenbrand created a short film competition for southern Indiana high school students. This spring, they hosted the competition for the fourth time and are excited to screen select films at the Astra Theatre. Alongside the films, the event will also feature a keynote speaker and a Q&A with student filmmakers.

Films were scored by a panel of six industry professionals, many of whom are from Indiana. The judges were selected to provide constructive feedback and mentorship to students interested in pursuing film/tv as a career. Six teams from five different high schools competed: Jasper, Shoals, Northeast Dubois, Southridge, and Pike Central.

This year’s keynote speaker is Kurtis Bowersock, a cinematographer living in Indianapolis. He is the owner of Bowersock Media and has shot countless projects, including “Last Days of Summer,” which won the Indiana Spotlight Narrative Award at the 2024 Heartland International Film Festival. He shot the film in Indianapolis, with a majority of the cast and crew being local to Indiana. The film is now streaming on Tubi and available to rent on Amazon Prime Video. He is the film programming coordinator with the Indiana Youth Film Festival, and feels passionately about fostering Indiana’s young filmmaking community.