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Students Showcase What ‘Bio Diversity Is’ at 2017 Thunder Bay International Film Festival

There wasn’t an empty seat inside of the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center Theater Saturday as friends, and family members came out to support students at the 2nd Annual Student Film Competition.

The Thunder Bay International Film Festival is coming to an end, and brought inspiring stories from students throughout the state of Michigan and the US to compete for this year’s film competition, called “Bio Diversity Is.”

Over 14 teams showcased their work while explaining through their films what ‘biodiversity’ meant to them.

“It’s a unique opportunity to showcase all these amazing Great Lakes and ocean inspired films that otherwise our communities may not be able to see. We really wanted to partner with students for this film festival because they have an interesting perspective on current issues and we want to highlight what they think, because they are our leaders for tomorrow. So challenging them through this competition we have been so excited about the results that have come and we are looking forward to partnering with students in the film festival for many years to come,” Gass said.

Some of the students revealed that working together as a team was a major challenge, but also a way to open doors for the future.

Student Kelly Cool said she was able to get her diving certification while filming with her partner, Jake Chapman.

“Being on this team helped me because being on this team led me to become scuba certified and I want to go into oceanography engineering so it will really help me in the future,” Cool explained.

Next year’s student competition will be themed, ‘Sanctuaries Are.” The Thunder Bay International Film Festival ends on Sunday. WBKB News will have the winner of the student competition tomorrow at 11 pm.