High School Student Creates Fire Island Film Festival to Raise Money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital

Jesse Jay Sheps, a junior at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, has created his own film festival called the Fire Island Film Festival. The inaugural festival took place on Fire Island on August 28.

Sheps thought of the idea of creating a film festival that also gave back to the community during the pandemic. He received hundreds of submissions from filmmakers around the world, choosing six to spotlight at the festival.

“I wanted to create a platform for young filmmakers of all diverse backgrounds to come together to share their passion for film while giving back to the community at large,” he told Patch. “I’m so glad I was able to create opportunities for filmmakers and actors to come together to share their story and recognize their accomplishments.”

There were films submitted to the Fire Island Film Festival that were shown at Sundance and TriBeCa Film Festivals, and even an Oscar-nominated film.

Visit FIFilmFest.com for more information.

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