Finalists Named in the 2023 Mattie Stepanek Poetic Film Prize

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Wendy Milette
Director The MY HERO International Film Festival
[email protected]

FINALISTS NAMED IN THE 2023 MATTIE STEPANEK POETIC FILM PRIZE

Mattie BannerMY HERO 

OCTOBER 12, 2023 – LAGUNA BEACH, CA 

MY HERO’s 19^th International Film Festival Presents the Mattie Stepanek Poetic Film Finalists

The Mattie Stepanek Poetic Film Prize honors filmmakers who share messages of hope and peace through their visual poems. Jeni Stepanek offers this prize in honor of her son, Mattie, who in his brief life touched the hearts of thousands with his messages of hope and peace through original poetry.

MY HERO has chosen five professional filmmakers as finalists in this year’s competition:

Nomadic By: Kyle Sykes - A young man goes around visiting cornerstones of the black community.

NomadicKyle Sykes 

One More Time By: Queality - Former band members of the Mighty Ram Band of Eastside High recall their golden days.

One More TimeQueality 

Reclaim By: Kelly Guerin - Jo-Anne McArthur visited two pig farms...

ReclaimKelly Guerin 

Gulf Coast Love Story [excerpt] By: Dayna Reggero - People in the Gulf Coast come together for a better future.

Gulf Coast Love StoryDayna Reggero 

Matthew Modine's I AM WHAT YOU IMAGINE - A sensual exploration of the unexplainable.

I AM WHAT YOU IMAGINEMatthew Modine 

In addition, six student finalists have been named:

Australia By: Gehrig Blackburn - An original poem celebrating the uniqueness of Australia.

Mother Earth By: Lily Virostko - Pacific Elementary School - Lily's original poem for the Earth!

Mother Moon - By: Elciana Hudson - Pacific Elementary School - Elciana shares her poetry for the Moon

Bananas By: Aadi Mistry - Pacific Elementary School - Aadi appreciates this fantastic fruit!

Amleto - Hamlet. A Grammar Test on the Use of the Verb "to Be" By: Vittorio Caratozzolo & Class 2 A (2022-23) - "to be" or "not to be"?

The Hill We Climb By: Destiny Brown -  Wide Angle Students created this work surrounding Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb".

Six more have been nominated in the Spoken Word Category: See them all here: /2023-mattie-stepanek-poetic-film-finalists

To see previous Poetic Film winners go to: /mattie-stepanek-poetry-prize

About the MY HERO International Film Festival:

The My Hero Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to showcasing films that celebrate the power of the human spirit. Hosted by Eva Haller, a prominent philanthropist and advocate for social change, the festival provides a platform for filmmakers to share inspirational stories of everyday heroes. Thanks to generous sponsors, prizes are awarded to elementary, middle school, high school, college and professionals in a variety of categories including documentary, narrative, music video, animation, experimental, and more.

The festival aims to inspire audiences to recognize the heroism in their own lives and encourage positive actions in their communities. Learn more.

Join us for the Awards Celebration on Saturday, November 18^th at 2 p.m. (PST). Festival winners and their heroes will be on hand to answer questions and share their stories. Short clips from select films will be screened. Awards are given to winners at Elementary, Middle School, High School, College and Professional levels. Register HERE.