Natick students recently gathered at Lincoln-Sudbury High School for a very special watch party.

The Natick youth delegation was there Thursday, May 7 to showcase and sit for a screening of short films they’d created.

The event, “Emerging Voices,” featured 10 shorts from local filmmakers. The creators ranged from high school students to veterans of the (short) silver screen.

Karin Trachtenberg is a local actor, director and producer who mentored the students and helped bring the film fest to fruition. 

Trachtenberg is co-founder of “Third Act Productions,” a women-led, independent film company that produces and promotes films shot from a female point of view.

Trachtenberg co-created the company with Julia Trueblood and Liz Bishop, two fellow producers and actors who share her vision for the medium of film. “Emerging Voices”  was born of a wish to support and encourage the newest crop of young filmmakers.

All three founders are mothers in different stages of the parenting journey, and were inspired by that perspective to showcase the talents and stories of teens. 

Those spry cinematographers, writers, directors and actors comprised the creativity on display at “Emerging Voices.”

One of those films at the festival was “Paint, Draw, Steal,” a short by Natick High School sophomore Emma Rose. Her film considers the effects of artificial intelligence on the lives and work of artists and creators.

It’s an increasingly salient societal topic, which in part explains the enthusiasm for the film. Its showing at “Emerging Voices” marked the film’s fourth appearance on the film festival circuit.

“We’re all talking about that,” said Trachtenberg of the rise in AI computer-generated content.

The film was personal for Rose, whose parents are artists themselves.

Lisa Olivieri is an educator at Natick High School, and was gratified to see two of her students’ work appear at the local film festival. Emma Rose was one, as was NHS student Jonathan Pereira.

He, along with classmates Kyle Ng, Lucas Vendig and James Pomakis, screened their short film “Fresh Meat,” at the fest. The film centers on the struggles of male freshmen working their way through their first year of high school.

“Fresh Meat” was inspired by the popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” story, a book and film that feature the travails of a less-than-popular middle-school boy.

“He gets pushed around,” said Pereira of the protagonist of his short film. The story, he added, “has some meaning behind it.”

But finding a kindred spirit, the beleaguered boy at the center of “Fresh Meat” summons the courage to envision a life lived a little bit closer to the cool kids’ table.

“He gets a little bit of hope,” said Pereira.

While his fellow filmmakers were occupied with other obligations the night of the film festival, Pereira attended the event to see his work shown in front of a live audience.

“It was a good time. We got to see a lot of good films.”

Olivieri teaches advanced video production, documentary filmmaking and digital photography at NHS. Her students shot their short films using a combination of cell phones and traditional video cameras.

“I love watching kids make their films,” said Olivieri. “To watch what’s in their heads translate onto film. It’s exciting to see films get put out into the world, not just for the grade.”

As part of bringing the films to fruition and to the festival, Trachtenberg helped get local businesses to sponsor the creative work.

“We had a lot of submissions from Natick and I wish we could have taken them all,” she said. “It’s always nice to get a bunch of people together in a room and watch a film.”