Kenney, 9, is the youngest filmmaker ever accepted in the New Jersey International Film Festival, to be held June 5 through 21 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Her entry, The New Girl in Town, is a short film involving a young vampire crashing a sleep-over, the garlic potato chips that ultimately ward off the bloodsucker, and a surprise ending.
“I tried to make it as scary as I could,” says Kenney, who wrote, directed, shot, and produced the film (with a little help from Mom) in four months last fall. “It ended up being funny, too, even though I wasn’t trying.”
According to Rutgers cinema-studies lecturer Albert Nigrin, the festival director, Kenney’s film was chosen for its creativity.
“The hardest thing for young kids is to actually get an idea down and finish it,” he says. “Emma found a way to be unique, which is not something you normally get from someone her age.”
Kenney is not new to the spotlight. She started taking improv acting classes at age 4 and has since starred in national commercials as well as many student films.
“I really like becoming new characters and finding what’s inside their minds,” says Kenney. “I also like being behind the camera, too, so as I get older, I want to to do both.”
Her film (starring her non-actor friends, Gianna Januszanis, Jessica Rickmers, Lianna Meehan, and Alec Meehan) premieres at 7 pm on June 12 at the film festival, which will screen 39 finalists and award $10,000 worth of prizes throughout the month of June. For more information, go to njfilmfest.com.