On April 17, 2026, the Forsyth County Arts and Learning (FoCAL) Center hosted the fourth annual Forsyth County (FoCo) Film Festival in collaboration with Forsyth County Schools CTAE and the Fine Arts Department. The field trip to the FoCo Film Festival was offered to all high school students in the audio-video technology and film (AVTF) pathway. This year, the FoCo Film Festival also welcomed middle school students to learn more about the pathway.
When asked how this opportunity would help students, Emily Freeze, the AVTF pathway teacher at North Forsyth High School, responded with, “for students to see other work from other high schools and get inspired, and just kind of, like, just make kids want to go out and make better films.”
Prior to the event, students from across the county submitted films to be showcased at the festival. AVTF teachers voted for one to three films to be shown alongside honorable mentions. However, honorable mentions were not played during the festival and can only be viewed through the FoCo film festival website.
Throughout the screenings and awards, Freeze explained how “[students] were finding out, like, as they were seeing their films on-screen,” for the winning students had no idea whether they had made it to the finals or not. Afterwards, students would receive a certificate and an award.
During the festival, there were many activities where students had the opportunity to ask professionals about the AVTF career, and students were able to experience how real sets function with lights and audio.
FoCo welcomed seven different guest speakers, who all have careers in the AVTF pathway, but they were all different, ranging from a director to a sales manager, who sells technology pieces used in sets. All seven guest speakers participated in a panel discussion where they began with pre-written questions, and then students were able to ask their own questions.
Overall, this event provided a great opportunity where students were able to learn more about the AVTF pathway, as well as watch all the other films made by other students, where they could find their own inspiration. Especially for the younger students, being able to participate in this event could lead them to take part in the AVTF pathway, where they could go out and make their own projects.
