International Festival focuses onstudents.

When the International Student Film Festival kicks off on Nov. 14, the five-day event will be more than screening films from young, aspiring moviemakers.

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For organizer Robin Saban, the festival is a cross-cultural exchange between filmmakers from around

"Having films coming from other countries is a way for the student filmmakers in the United States to see (foreign students') techniques and their way of making films," Saban said.

The festival features 105 films from 13 countries screened at the Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in North Hollywood.

A.C. Lyles, a senior producer at Paramount, receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival's closing gala.

In a city never lacking for film festivals, why would Saban put on yet another one, now in its fifth year?

While other festivals may accept student entries there was no single event just for student filmmakers. So Saban, who has worked as a writer and editor, started the international festival as a means to give exposure to up and comers of the next generation.

The students range from university and college age to middle schoolers. A new category for this year's event is claymation shorts from elementary school students.

Their work reflects their worldview and what is important to them, Saban said.

"We can see all this through their films," he added.

The event does attract distributors and agents as well as those interested in seeing what different film programs are producing.

The films to be screened were pared down from 350 submissions. A panel of judges will award prizes in multiple categories.

Area schools represented in the festival's competition include California Institute of the Arts, Grant High School, Calabasas High School, and Providence High School in Burbank.

The festival is supported by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, the Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and is promoted by the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley as a Valley of the Stars event.

BY MARK R. MADLER

Staff Reporter