Just down the street from DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus on Fullerton Avenue, a crowd of young cinephiles and filmmakers swarm in the lobby of the Facets Theater. The space, which operates both as a waiting room and a video rental store, holds a bevy of young artists eager to show off their work.

From April 25-27, the Facets Theater was host to the CineYouth Film Festival. Organized by the Chicago International Film Festival annually since 2005, the festival screens work from artists and filmmakers 22 or younger. 

The series kicked off Friday night with a block of films under the “In The Loop: Chicago Voices” banner, highlighting films made by those living in the city. 

DePaul senior and film student Tess Detwiler’s short film “The Five Steps of Irish Catholic Grieving” was included in the block. Written by and starring DePaul junior Colin Wilbur, the story follows a young man who deals with family fallout at his father’s funeral. 

“It was really important to me to make sure that we weren’t overworking people,” Detwiler said. “I’d been on a lot of sets that were very run-and-gun, which is great, that’s the nature of student film, but I wanted to make sure everyone had a good time on set. I hope that it comes through in the finished product, that everyone felt respected and appreciated.”

The film, shot for around four thousand dollars, has a crew consisting primarily of other DePaul film students. CineYouth offers a chance for Detwiler and her peers to network. 

“The other festival I went to in person didn’t have a lot of student filmmakers. So I definitely felt a little shy,” Detwiler said. “Since CineYouth is specifically all 22 years and younger, all of us are kind of at our start, and I think a little more eager to communicate with one another and share ideas.”

Other DePaul-affiliated films included DePaul senior Lily McCauley’s short film “Patron Saint Buffalo Bill” in the “Genre Breakers: Experimental” category. The film recontextualizes the “Silence of the Lambs” character Buffalo Bill, a murderer whose gender identity remains in flux, as a celebration of trans rebellion against the mainstream. 

The thousands of films submitted to CineYouth each year, all spanning a variety of genres, are reviewed by a team of interns. Carmen Chavez, a junior film student at DePaul, oversaw the experimental category. 

“I had to watch over 100 short films in the span of two months starting back in January. Each film needed to be watched twice, reviewed and ranked,” Chavez said. “We spent hours deliberating these programs to really lock in our choices.”

Chavez, in her position as a viewer, learned from the experience both as a programmer and as a filmmaker herself. 

“Having the eyes of your peers be jurors feels more grounded to me, and gives a new perspective on what a film program can be,” Chavez said. 

DePaul adjunct faculty Liliane Calfee is the director of the DePaul + Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Youth Programs, a partnership between DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts and the CHA to sponsor films from underprivileged youth in the Chicago area. 

“As the director of DePaul film programs that match student mentors with Chicago public housing residents, I was motivated to join (CineYouth’s) education advisory board to expand opportunities not just to our participants but marginalized youth across the city,” Calfee said. 

Participants in the CHA program step into the role of jurors as well, judging the documentary category of the festival. 

“(CineYouth) gives them the unique opportunity to watch films through a different lens and learn more about the role of film festivals in the industry,” Calfee said. “It’s one of my favorite events we host because the conversations about the films are so rich and it truly inspires them to keep creating, too.”

Related Stories:

• Michael Shannon and Brett Neveu embrace the oddness of existence in ‘Eric LaRue’
• Talking about process with DePaul’s ‘Directors for Actors’
• Director, writer and star Kyle Mooney on growing up in the 90s and ‘Y2K’

Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories, delivered to your inbox every Monday.