Sunflower County Film Academy Student Film “Help Wanted” Recognized by Film Festivals
DECEMBER 31, 2023 - CLEVELAND, MS - A film produced by the students of the Sunflower County Film Academy has been recognized by two film festivals, The Best Shorts Film Competition and The Magnolia Independent Film Festival.
Their film, “Help Wanted” won the prestigious Award of Merit from the California-based Best Shorts Film Competition in two categories: “Film Short (Student)” and “Young Filmmaker – 17 and younger”, as well as an Award of Recognition for Actor Leading (Student) Merion Turner as “Elijah”.
The film is also an “official selection” of the 27th Annual Magnolia Independent Film Festival taking place at the Hollywood Premier Cinemas in Starkville February 22 – February 24, 2024.
The movie poster for “Help Wanted” featuring (l to r) Merion Turner, Jacobi Baldwin, Jonarious ‘Jay’ Lee and Cameron Baldwin. Poster design by Ben Powell of Broken Arm Studio.
“I'm so excited that our students will have the experience of watching their hard work up on the big screen at a film festival,” said Sunflower County Film Academy (SCFA) Instructor Glenn Payne. “It's a unique and fulfilling event at one of the most nurturing festivals in the state."
Payne and Ben Powell, both award-winning filmmakers, were the instructors for the 2023 student workshop hosted by the Delta Arts Alliance at the historic Ellis Theatre in Cleveland in June. Students from Bolivar, Sunflower, Washington, and Hinds counties attended the free four-week workshop.
“Help Wanted” written by Payne and directed and produced by Payne and Powell, tells the story of a troubled teen, “Elijah” who forms an unexpected bond when he befriends a gruff old man in a story about friendship, growth and finding one’s place in the world. The film also stars SCFA student Jonarious “Jay” Lee who plays, “Jeremiah”.
All of the students including Lee and Turner and Zariah Burl, Ariyanna Duvall, Arthur Evans, Peyton James, Aaron Johnson, Jaiden Nix and Mariano Sifuentes had roles in the film as extras and/or as part of the production crew. The film premiered on June 30 to a packed audience at the Ellis Theatre.
Founded in 2018, the Sunflower County Film Academy is part of the K-12 educational curriculum, Find Your Voice, for the multimodal project, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America. A civil rights icon, Fannie Lou Hamer is known for her activism for voting and equal rights and her humanitarianism in her native Sunflower County. A fierce proponent of education, Hamer aided in bringing the first Head Start program to the state of Mississippi in the 1960s. The SCFA continues Hamer’s mission of bringing educational programs and career opportunities to marginalized students in the Mississippi Delta.
The 2023 workshop was funded by a private donor and the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi. The program, which strives to be held annually, is completely funded by volunteer contributions and grants.
Instructors Ben Powell (left) and Glenn Payne (center) on set with SCFA student Merion Turner who plays “Elijah” in “Help Wanted”.
About The Best Shorts Competition: The Best Shorts Competition recognizes film, television, videography, and new media professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Entries are judged by highly qualified professionals in the film and television industry. The goal of Best Shorts is “to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve.”
About The Magnolia Independent Film Festival: The Magnolia Indpendent Film Festival, affectionately known as The Mag, is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization whose mission is to bring quality independent cinema to the Golden Triangle Area and to support the growing film industry within the state of Mississippi. As Mississippi’s first and longest running film festival, The Mag is known for being an intimate, filmmaker-friendly festival that consistently brings unique, edgy, diverse, and inspiring cinema to small-town Mississippi while also supporting home-grown filmmakers and storytellers.