Courtesy Photo Viewers are seen in the main theater at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena during the Thunder Bay International Film Festival. This year’s film festival will be Jan. 24 through 28.

ALPENA — A host of excellent Great Lakes films are on tap at the Sanctuary Selections Film Competition screening and awards, presented by The Sunset Project.

Of the more than 70 submissions, the top five have been selected and will be screened on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Thunder Bay International Film Festival at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena. Following the screening, the winner of the $5,000 top prize will be announced. There will also be an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of the filmmakers.

The event, from 6 to 9 p.m., will include hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $20 per person, or included with a Thunder Pass, which gets you in to every program at the film festival, for $125. For tickets, visit thunderbayfriends.org.

Among those top five films is “love and lake”, a film by two Alpena teens, Nick Lusardi, 18, and Hannah Tracey, 17. Lusardi graduated from Alpena High in 2023 and is now a freshman at the University of Michigan. Tracey is a senior at Alpena High. They’re a couple. They were both elated to make the top five.

“I was astounded,” Tracey said. “I’m really excited.”

Tracey explained how the whole process started.

“I brought up the film festival to him, because it’s something we could do together,” Tracey said. “We always love making movies and creating together.”

They filmed in and around Alpena in late November, and at one point, Tracey had to stand in Lake Huron.

“It was very cold,” she said. “My legs hurt a little bit, after, but I think it turned out very well.”

The pair had a little companion with them for some of the filming — Lusardi’s senior dog, Lacy, a yorkie poo, who makes an appearance or two.

Lusardi talked about “love and lake” and the inspiration behind it.

“It’s a really simple film,” he said. “It’s greatly inspired by my experience here as a college freshman, moving out of my hometown for the first time, and … trying to figure out what I miss the most about my hometown, and, through exploring that feeling, I find out that it’s the lake.”

He explained why they wanted to make the film.

“It was made just to, sort of, speak to a lot of other college students who have moved away from Alpena who might feel the same way about how much they miss the water and the feelings associated with it, and the memories associated with it, and how prevalent it was in their childhood, and their relationships,” Lusardi said. “It’s sharing that experience of loving the lake, and missing the lake.”

He expanded on that point.

“I really miss the open space, and the freedom associated with it, and the revitalizing nature of the water,” Lusardi said. “To stand in the water, and feel it around you. And the adventure associated with the water, as well.”

Lusardi has participated in and won the TBIFF Student Film Competition several times when he was a student at Alpena High. So far in his filmmaking career, he has made 29 films, with more on the way.

Tracey expressed her appreciation for both The Sunset Project and the Thunder Bay International Film Festival organizers for putting on such a special event.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for everybody to be a part of,” Tracey said. “You can be any age, any type of person, all of us share the love of film and creating, and I think it’s really cool that we’re able to be a part of something bigger.”

Gavin MacDonald, Nick Poli, and Kevin O’Brien co-founded The Sunset Project with the mission statement: “to establish a community of individuals focused on fostering creative advancement while being a driving force for mental health awareness.” The nonprofit was founded after their friend, Sawyer Boyd, took his own life. They wanted to help others who were struggling with mental health issues, as well as encourage creativity and artistic expression.

The Sunset Project hosts the FOCUS45 Photography Contest, and now, the Sanctuary Selections Film Competition, culminating on Jan. 27.

“All five films will be screened, then right after each film is screened, there will be a short Q&A with the filmmaker … and then, at the very end, we’re going to, sort of, Oscar-style, reveal the top winner” who will receive the $5,000 prize, MacDonald said. “We are also housing them for two nights at the Holiday Inn in Northeast Michigan, so they get to experience the entirety of the film festival.”

The judges were very impressed with all the entries, and especially the top five. Six judges were on the panel.

“With this judges panel, you have a wide range of individuals, all with a real depth of professional experience, and then, also, personal tastes, so it was really interesting for us to see the results of their judging process … and see which films they thought were the best of the bunch,” Poli said. “We think they did an excellent job.”

In addition to Tracey and Lusardi’s film, the other four are: “Senghor Reid: Make Way for Tomorrow” by Eden Sabolboro (Michigan); “Toxic Art” by Jason Whalen and Chris Zuker (Michigan filmmakers, film based in Ohio); “The Great Wake” by Charlie Klipp and Mario Cassem (Michigan and Illinois); and “Marqueetown” by Joseph Beyer and Jordan Anderson (Michigan, film based in Marquette).

“It was an amazing experience,” Jess Breckenridge said of being a judge for the film competition. Breckenridge represents the Thunder Bay Cinema Society. “We’re honored that two members of our board were chosen to do that.”

Breckenridge was impressed with the Sunset Project’s setup and rubric for the judges to use.

“As a community-first organization, we’re always about helping the community, through cinema,” Breckenridge said. “The system that The Sunset Project put together with the website to view the movies was very slick. I was able to sit down there and make a bowl of popcorn on a couple of nights and watch all of the movies and score them on a rubric so we could be as impartial and objective as we could.”

Breckenridge said it was an honor to participate.

“There were some real surprises in there, and it was just an honor to see the talent of the community and the Midwest that had submitted these films,” Breckenridge added.

Judges viewed the films without knowing the names of the filmmakers, so there was no partiality. The judges also viewed the films separately from each other and did not communicate with each other during the viewing time frame.

“We, actually, even now, don’t know who won,” Breckenridge said. “So, we’ll be just as surprised as everyone else when the envelope is unveiled. Just like the Oscars or the Golden Globes, we’ll be cheering for the winner.”

Zachary Irving is the other cinema society member and is also a filmmaker himself and owner of Irving Entertainment, a film studio in Alpena.

“There were over 70 submissions, they said, and they dwindled it down to about 25-30 for us to watch,” Irving said. “As a filmmaker myself, it was new to be on this side of the judges … it was great to see that side of the process and be a part of that. It was very inspiring, as a filmmaker myself, to see all these amazing Great Lakes filmmakers share their voice.”

Irving was excited to see that Lusardi entered and made the top five.

“It’s amazing that Nick Lusardi is from Alpena and still making films, and he’s growing and learning, and he’s finding his voice,” Irving said. “It’s really cool to see.”

He also enjoyed “Marqueetown” because he travels to Marquette as a getaway now and then.

“I go up there, kind of as an escape, to this beautiful city,” Irving said.

He added there were so many talented submissions, and he was impressed with all the filmmakers.

“I was really impressed,” echoed Kara Bauer LeMonds, a film industry professional from Alpena. She was also a judge. “It was really fun. It’s really neat to see films that are focused on the Great Lakes area.”

She noted that “the films were super varied,” which made it even more interesting to judge.

“Some were documentary format, and some were narratives, and those are kind of hard to judge together,” Bauer LeMonds said. “So, I think, next year they’re going to split those categories, especially since they did have such a great response.”

She said she wanted to give everyone a gold star for all their hard work, because making a film is not easy.

“There were a lot of great pieces out there,” she said. “It was wonderful. It’s great to see great work.”

She added that the top five combined excellent filmmaking with truly compelling storytelling.

“There’s something for everyone,” Bauer LeMonds said. “It’s inspiring. All five films are great.”

She encourages folks to attend the event on the 27th.

“It’ll be fun to meet the filmmakers,” she said. “It’s a really cool thing to have all five filmmakers do a Q&A and be available to have discussions … Building a film is a puzzle, so it’s nice to be able to talk to the person who, kind of, figured out all the pieces.”

Grants that funded Sanctuary Selections include: Bridging Michigan Grant –Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; 2023 Northeast MI Women’s Giving Circle Grant; and Summer 2023 Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan Community Impact Grant.

“I have to thank Gavin and Nick for spearheading this,” Breckenridge said, adding that focusing on the arts in Northeast Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes area is a wonderful endeavor. “It’s really a beacon to all of us … They just go above and beyond, every single time.”

Breckenridge encourages filmmakers to keep at it.

“On behalf of the Thunder Bay Cinema Society, we are proud of everyone from this region and beyond that submitted films to this film festival,” Breckenridge said. “Keep on going at it, keep on making your art, keep on telling your truth, and we look forward to seeing more submissions from those people and newcomers this year, next, and moving towards the future.”

“To have so many high-quality submissions … proves that there’s a real need for this in the Northeast Michigan region, specifically,” Poli said. “And that people are really excited about it when they hear about it. So, now, we know there’s a desire for it. How do we make it something that can last, year over year, and continue to bring filmmakers to the community, and bring people out to see good films, and give some exposure to the region at the same time?”

“Our goal would be for this to keep growing and serve as this, sort of, incubator for great films and great content about our region,” MacDonald added.