Media Advisory: WNY's Student Digital Video Academy Awards Festival Returns Tonight to Downtown

The area's best student digital videographers and their teachers will gather to view each other's work and celebrate an emerging educational art form at the City Voices, City Visions Awards ceremony beginning 5 p.m. today (June 4, 2009) in the Market Arcade Cinemas, 639 Main St.

The best work from more than 150 teenagers submitting videos from middle and high schools throughout Western New York will be on display. The students, their teachers and University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education administrator Suzanne Miller, who chairs the CVCV digital video project, will be on hand for interviews.

Featured categories will include Most Effective Soundtrack, Best Narrative and Outstanding Editing. Other awards will be given in categories that address the curriculum-based focus of the program, including Best Literature-based Video and Best History-based Video.

The 53 video entries included work from suburban districts such as West Seneca East, outlying districts such as Olean and Maple Grove, and parochial schools such as Bishop Timon, as well as schools in the Buffalo Public School system, where the project began.

The party-like "red carpet Buffalo-style" atmosphere begins at 5 p.m., but screening of the winning entries and presentation of awards with speeches, will continue through the evening.

Press arrangements: Charles Anzalone in the UB Office of Communications at 440-8824, or Suzanne Miller at 553-6833 onsite.