PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (Mar. 24, 2010) -- The Palm Beach County Film & Television Commission has announced the finalists of the 15^th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival's Student Showcase of Films (SSOF). The SSOF is the largest statewide film competition for Florida students with more than $15,000 in cash and scholarships awarded to high school and college students enrolled in film and television programs.Entries are judged by industry professionals from around the United States and winning student films will be screened during the film festival.

"We received another incredible number of submissions this year and the quality of entries makes the 2010 competition more extraordinary than ever," said Chuck Elderd, film commissioner of the Palm Beach County Film & Television Commission. "These students represent the next generation of film, and it's exciting to see the direction our industry is headed."

The finalists in the Feature/Short category, in no particular order, are:  

Feature/Short, College:
Ken Adachi, Florida State University, Picture Day;
Stephen Bell, Florida State University, The Quartering Act;
Anjuli Hinds, Florida State University, Zimbabwe.  

Feature/Short, High School:
Kenzie Cooke and Marcos Gasc, G-Star School of the Arts, Sunder;
David Harrison, Design & Architecture Senior High School, Lost and Gone Forever;
Lori Perry, G-Star School of the Arts, Love Story.          

SSOF's competition winners in other categories include: 

1^st Place Commercial/PSA
Jared Mizel, Adam Greenstein and Jordan Greenstein, Spanish River High School, Listen Up.  

1^st Place Documentary S
ophie Green, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Nanny's Untold Story.  

1^st Place Music Video
Aaron Kurlander, Savannah Bailey, Jessica Davis and Sophie Green, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts; Sleepyhead.  

1^st Place Screenwriting
Michael Chasin of Miami Film School; Death & Life.  

1^st Place Poster
Hailey Mears, Seminole Ridge High School.  

This year's nearly 200 entries were judged by some of the top names in the industry, including directors, producers and other film and music professionals who have worked with worldwide blockbuster hits such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Transformers and American Idol. The 2010 judges include:

STAN BUSH - Songwriter and singer best known for his songs "The Touch" and "Dare" featured in the original 1980s Transformers movie. Bush won an Emmy Award for Best Original Song, "Til I Was Loved By You" in 1997, and his song "Capture the Dream" was featured in the 1996 Olympics.

TREY FANJOY - Director and producer responsible for the creative vision behind more than 200 major label music videos. She has directed seven hit video clips for Taylor Swift, including "Love Story," which in 2009 was the number one selling video in the world and earned her the Country Music Association's coveted Video of the Year. She has also received numerous awards from Country Music Television (CMT), and worked with top musicians like Reba McEntire, George Strait, Lady Antebellum, Bob Seger, Rascal Flatts, Brooks & Dunn, Kid Rock, Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton, among others.

DEAN LYON - Visual effects supervisor with more than 25 years experience in collaborating with award winning filmmakers. His film credits include the Academy Award winning films like Armageddon, Independence Day, Jerry Maguire and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  

MEL MARON - Currently runs the Westchester Films Inc. distribution company and represents independent filmmakers through J.G.M. Enterprises. Maron was previously president of marketing and distribution of Castle Hill Productions for more than 20 years, as well as MGM's road show manager where he distributed a long list of hit films, including Dr. Zhivago, Gone With the Wind (re-release), 2001: A Space Odyssey and How the West was Won. He was recently elected into the Executive Division of the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences.

MICHAEL ORLAND - Pianist, arranger and associate musical director for the hit Fox TV series American Idol, and through his experience Orland has appeared on Oprah and Entertainment Tonight. He has worked with music industry giants such as Barry Manilow, Gladys Knight and Carrie Underwood.

JOHN TEXTOR - Co-chairman of Digital Domain and the Founder of Wyndcrest Holdings, LLC, a Florida-based private holding company focused on technology related opportunities in entertainment, telecommunications and the Internet. Digital Domain is responsible for the special effects for movies such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  

The public will have a chance to become judges through an additional "Audience Award," which is given to the film that received the most votes through online voting.The top nine eligible films, as decided by the SSOF judges are available for viewing and voting at www.pbfilm.com/studentshowcaseoffilms. Honoring the legacy of Burt Reynolds, the festival also presents an annual scholarship bearing his name, which will be announced within the upcoming weeks.

The winners will walk the red carpet and receive awards in front of more than 800 attendees at the professionally produced, live SSOF awards ceremony on Friday, April 23, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Palm Beach Gardens Community High School Theatre.Past SSOF award presenters and guests include such notables as Steven Bauer, Amanda Bynes, Vincent Cecere, Clint Howard, Jonathan Krane, Louis Lombardi, Vincent Pastore, Burt Reynolds, Al Sapienza, Tico Torres and Nick Zano.

For more information about the Student Showcase of Films, please visit www.pbfilm.com or the Facebook group page.  

About the Palm Beach International Film Festival
The PBIFF is a not for profit 501 (c) 3 founded in 1996 with the vision of offering an exciting cultural venue for the community and to be a tremendous fundraiser for educational film and television programs. The festival hosts more than 20,000 filmgoers annually, has been recognized as one of the Top 25 Independent Film Festivals in the World and has screened more than 150 World Premieres.                

The PBIFF has welcomed a bevy of top celebrities and filmmakers including: Academy Award® Winners Adrien Brody, Anthony Hopkins, Tommy Lee Jones, Faye Dunaway, Dennis Hopper, Louise Fletcher and Michael Caine; Academy Award® Nominees Salma Hayek, Edward Norton, Robert Evans, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson and Burt Reynolds. Along with countless other legends, stars and filmmakers that have created movie magic for the past 80 years, including: Roger Moore, Faye Wray, Esther Williams, Anouk Aimee, Samuel L. Jackson, Cyd Charisse, Richard Zanuck, William Friedkin, Brett Ratner, Jacqueline Bisset, Michael Clarke Duncan and Rod Steiger.  

To date, the PBIFF has donated over one million dollars of proceeds film and television programs. For more information about the PBIFF visit pbifilmfest.org.  This program is funded by the PBIFF, the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, the Palm Beach County Economic Development Office and the Palm Beach County Film & Television Commission.