Inaugural Film Festival a success for the Center for Career Services

The event was hosted at Westchester Community College

The FirstDance Film Festival earned its name for a reason: The event was the first of its kind for Southern Westchester BOCES and students from the Center for Career Services.

“This is a culmination of a few years of us building toward a festival,” said TV/Video Production teacher Michael May, who organized and served as emcee for the event. “We talked about it for many years, but now I think our program — not just the creativity but the technical knowledge — has reached a point where we could try this. It seems to have been a success.”

The inaugural event made a successful debut on May 14, 2025 in the Gateway Center at Westchester Community College. Eight short films debuted, directed and produced by students in May’s TV/Video Production class. Three other films that were co-directed by students and earned recognition from SkillsUSA earlier this year were also screened for an audience that included students, families, program alumni, members of BOCES administration and film industry professionals.

“It was very special to see this all come to fruition,” said Logan Pierre, a senior from New Rochelle. “It’s been a lot of hard work. It all paid off. I’m super happy with how it turned out.”

Pierre was among the students whose films were honored with awards at the conclusion of the festival. Pierre’s film “Friends” was awarded with Best Picture and Best Cinematography. Shane Gordon, a senior who attends Byram Hills High School, earned Best Film Editing for his film, “30 Minutes,” while Eastchester’s Jake Olivier received the nod for Best Screenplay for his film, “Slashed Together.”

The evening also included contributions from Commercial Art students, who teamed with student directors to produce movie posters, which were on display outside the screening room. TV/Video Production and Sound Production students also filmed and recorded footage of the Film Festival.

“For Career and Technical Education, these are the types of events that get our students in the real world and give them great experience outside of the classroom,” Center for Career Services Principal Jaclyn De Lao said. “Getting to showcase their work in a venue like this — this really is what CTE is all about.”

FirstDance Film Festival

"Magical Cookies" - Directed by Eugene Egbivwie
"Mazuma" - Directed by Mateo Colon Mojica
"Secrets of the Globe" - Directed by Emanuel Maiese
"Clip This" - Directed by Ben Taylor
"Slashed Together" - Directed by Jake Olivier (Best Screenplay)
"Friends" - Directed by Logan Pierre (Best Picture, Best Cinematography)
"30 Minutes" - Directed by Shane Gordon (Best Film Editing)
"Broken" - Directed by Anthony Zottola

SkillsUSA-Recognized Films

"Spooky Sparky" - Directed by Sam Burgos and Ryan Corrigan
"Playback" - Directed by Logan Pierre and Shane Gordon (Regional competition winner)
"Boxed In" - Directed by Logan Pierre and Shane Gordon (New York State competition winner)