Madison students create book trailers for film festival

As part of the Read On Wisconsin program, students from Madison’s Whitehorse Middle School have dedicated their summer vacation to reading and discussing books for grades six through eight.

They will soon bring these literary works from the page to the screen during the inaugural Bridget Zinn Film Festival from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 at the Marquee Theater in Union South at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The film festival marks the culmination of a two-week project during which Whitehorse teacher Sarah Waddell and her students will learn the basic techniques of storyboarding, film-making and editing.

Starting July 23, the team of 15 eighth graders have worked with the staff from the UW–Madison School of Education’s Media, Education Resources and Information Technology, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), and the Department Curriculum and Instruction to create book trailers. Like movie trailers, these short films give viewers a quick glimpse into books to pique the interest of potential readers.

The students’ video trailers will be featured on the Read On Wisconsin website in September, but the festival debut will offer an opportunity for the students’ families, friends and other community members to meet the young filmmakers at a red carpet event and reception, which is free and open to the public.

Local author Kashmira Sheth will also speak at the event. Sheth was a personal friend of the festival’s namesake, Bridget Zinn, a librarian, author, filmmaker and a strong advocate for books and reading, who died in 2011 at age 33.

The UW–Madison School of Education’s Partner School Network and the Office for Education Outreach and Partnerships, as well as the Friends of the CCBC’s Bridget Zinn Memorial Fund will sponsor the festival.

Read On Wisconsin is administered by CCBC. The popular online book club for Wisconsin students and educators program features monthly book recommendations for students at five age levels.