Riley Walsh was only a sophomore at Marjory Stoneman Douglas when he created his first feature film, “A Guided Date.” It stars Walsh as a young boy going on a date with his crush whilst receiving help from his friend through an earpiece.
Since then, his passion has blossomed. The now 18 year old has made nearly 30 movies. Almost all of his work has premiered at festivals, national competitions, and networks, with about 14 of them winning awards.
His most recent feature is called “Afterglow.” Inspired by an old TV set, this surrealist film is about a young girl dealing with the loss of a friend. While viewing old DVDs they had made for a time capsule, she confronts her trauma by touching the screen and transferring through it, where she gets to see her friend for the last time.
“It was the first project where I got to take my time and put everything into it,” said Walsh. “It’s something that connects with me personally and made me realize how I want to go about my art.”
“Afterglow” will be shown at “The Broward Student Film Festival” on June 12, 2025 at the Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale from 6 to 9 p.m. This event will showcase original short films of various genres and topics, all made by South Florida middle and high school filmmakers.
“The ultimate goal of this film festival is to foster a regional identity for South Florida storytellers,” said Kevin Ordanza, the festival director for the upcoming event. “We’re trying to bring a space for these emerging voices to feel validated in the stories they want to tell.”
The festival is conducted under the After School Film Institute (ASFI,) a program that works with children to create and distribute projects locally and internationally. The event was created for aspiring young talent.
“South Florida dominates in film and broadcasting all the time, so we wanted to have a local celebration of that,” said Dr. Devin Marsh, the co-founder and executive director of ASFI. “We’re bringing more and more storytelling to underserved communities in the area.”
This will be the first film festival under ASFI that’s dedicated solely to Broward County. Previously, they held and will continue to have an annual event called the “Future in Films” festival in Miami.
The last lineup included 17 original films by 20 students. The content ranged from eating disorders to accepting adolescence and much more.
One of the films featured was titled “Surpassing Suburbia,” a piece that delves into growing up and realizing the horrors of reality. It was directed by and starred Melissa Azzaritto, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas who won the “Best Director” award from the previous festival.
A significant moment sees Azzaritto’s character switch from being on a swing at the park to viewing articles on tragedies that have occurred all over the country.
“When I found out that I won for best director, I was shocked because it was the first film that I directed,” said Azzaritto. “It was fun being able to be very hands-on and see my writing come to life visually.”
This upcoming festival will have some similarities but with more of a Broward feel.
“We were able to get some support from the Broward cultural division,” Ordanza said. “We’re all working together to set up and build an artistic identity in Broward.”
So far, more than 50 submissions have been received from students aged 13-18. They will also have an opportunity to speak about their work during a Q&A.
“We try to treat the kids like adults and bring them up on stage to celebrate them,” said Dr. Marsh. “We ask them about their films so that they can talk to other kids about working on a movie.”
All genres are welcome for submission, including music videos, as the event strives to promote diversity and creativity.
“We’ve gone from sci-fi to documentary to drama to comedy,” said Ordanza. “In terms of topics, there’s a lot of variety, which is like a really big testament of the types of stories that are coming out of this area.”
The overall message of the event is the importance of giving young students a platform to share their work. It seeks to give them opportunities to further their advances in creating original art.
“I think it’s really important to build platforms for people where we celebrate their artistic achievements and their creative voice,” said Ordanza. “When you nurture those voices, they in turn will become future community leaders, future artistic leaders and future storytellers.”
The festival is currently in production as submissions are being reviewed. All those interested can find further details on their website
The idea of “Afterglow” came to Walsh over the summer of his junior year. After bringing the idea to his co-writer, Ava Thomas, they worked together for two months to flesh out the entire story. Several more months were put into finding filming locations, obtaining equipment and building a cast and crew, all of whom were in Walsh’s film class.
“This film in particular was something that I had done out of school, so it let me have a lot more time to focus on every aspect of the film,” said Walsh. “Usually I’m limited to a couple weeks of work but when it came to this, I was able to give it my all.”
The movie was shot over a total of three days. Since then it has premiered at Palm Beach Showcase of Films, YoungArts competition and Lightning Film Festival, receiving praise from the audience.
“Just hearing the audience react as they watch my films, it shows that your work can connect to people,” said Walsh. “That’s what makes it really valuable to go to these festivals and make your art feel seen.”
