Our Story:

 Crave Student Arts invites you to share in our presentation of the 12th Annual All American High School Film Festival (AAHSFF), the world’s largest student film festival, dedicated to providing creative empowerment and enriching opportunities for the next generation of storytellers. 

We receive 2,500+ submissions every year representing all 50 States and over 50 countries; our community includes tens of thousands of student filmmakers, educators, and alumni representing thousands of middle and high schools; we welcome over 4,000 attendees and offer industry experience to hundreds of volunteers; we present our Roadshow to 15,000+ students every year; we share the success stories and expertise of our alumni with our podcast The Future of Film; and we have provided over 3.5 million in prizes and scholarships. What started as a dream to create a local film club has grown into an international destination for passionate young artists around the world.

The All American High School Film Festival was founded in 2013 by Hendrick Hudson High School English teacher, Tom Oliva and high school senior Andrew Jenks,  who shared a passion for filmmaking. Andrew Jenks, had the idea to start a student film festival when he was beginning to discover his passion, making short videos on his parent's VHS camera. His small, upstate New York public school, Hendrick Hudson High School was supportive, but only if he found a teacher willing to supervise. Most teachers said no, but Tom was eager to help. After Andrew left high school, Tom continued the event. 

Tom and Andrew believed that they could build the biggest student film fest in the world. Sure enough, it grew and grew, from statewide to nationwide to international. Now, 11 years later, Andrew continues to support the festival while building his career with films on HBO, Netflix, and MTV, and Tom serves as the full time executive director of the festival.

The success of AAHSFF provided clear evidence that the entity needed a plan for growth. In 2018, we launched our non-profit, Crave Student Arts, to bolster our reach and resources, help even the playing field, and further embrace the mission of the festival and its initiatives.

But we know that there is much more we can do to elevate the next generation of artists. This includes providing resources to pursue a meaningful career path, offering immersive educational experiences, connecting the artists of the future with engaging developmental opportunities, and providing a collaborative and productive artistic community to assist in the development of ALL students’ artistic abilities and experiences. Crave Arts relies on sponsors, grants, and individual donations to produce the world’s largest student film festival. We receive and vet 2,500+ submissions annually, designate hundreds for official selection screenings, elevate 200+ films for category nominations and present over 40 specific category winners. These submissions represent all 50 states as well as 50+ countries where the arts are not prioritized in traditional education such as Iran, China, India, and Pakistan.