Teen filmmakers in the Rochester region and throughout the United States are being recognized for their filmmaking skills at this summer's 2017 Rochester Teen Film Festival. This year, young filmmakers will again have a chance to earn the Philip Seymour Hoffman Award, which honors the life and legacy of the late Academy Award-winning actor and Fairport native. The annual award is given to the teen whose film is chosen by the judges as "Best of Fest" and was established in association with the Hoffman family. Along with The Philip Seymour Hoffman Award is the Alex Ketchek Award for Best Animated Film is in memory of Alex Ketchek, a 2010 Rochester Teen Film Festival finalist who tragically passed away in 2013. The purpose of the festival is to honor the work of urban, suburban and rural teen filmmakers and give young people an authentic opportunity to participate in a real film festival. All submissions are judged by a jury and finalists have been elected to have their films shown at The Little.

[source: Facebook, 2017-Aug-7]