The I.M.P.A.C.T. Film Festival was held in the Salisbury High School auditorium May 15, inviting and challenging students across the Lehigh Valley to produce their own short films to compete in a gala-style event.

I.M.P.A.C.T. stands for Integrated Media Production Arts, Communication, Technology.

Participants were given a theme and allotted one week from concept, production to realization.

"There was a meeting Wednesday night [April 8] when we got the topic; then we had…until Tuesday [April 14] at midnight to hand it in," Edward "Teddy" Denver said, who helped coordinate the event and also submitted a film.

Denver is a senior at Salisbury High School and plans to study digital communications at Lebanon Valley College in the fall.

The theme of this year's film festival was "Predictably Irrational" and students tackled the topic diversely.

"Uncommon," submitted by Makayla Mitchell of Easton High School, featured a psychotic mother whose unconscious abuse of her child drove the mother insane.

"A High School Guide for Freshmen," produced by Laura Kotula of Northwestern High School was a snarky and light-hearted recounting of underclassmen's social faux pas.

Adam Miller's film, "Who Doesn't Like Lemonade?" was a farcical murder mystery featuring an inflatable murder weapon and other vaudevillian antics.

"The theme was something that was so out there," Miller said, a junior at SHS. "I thought it was going to be hats or something, where you had to incorporate hats."

The I.M.P.A.C.T. Film Festival was sponsored by PBS 39, Dan's Camera City, RCN Corporation and Firerock Productions. Firerock is a Lehigh Valley-based production company owned by Julia and Rocky Urich, who both attended SHS prior to founding the company in 2009. Their documentary "Happiness is Always an Option," featuring notable Lehigh Valley writer Shane Burcaw, won an Emmy Award in 2013.

"It's really exciting that media is more accessible to students in high school," Julia Urich said. "I didn't even know this was a career option, and here I am."

Firerock Productions was also responsible for judging the I.M.P.A.C.T. Film Festival submissions.

"Adam Loves Rachael" won best director and best special effects. The film was submitted by Jess Laudadio and Madison Hoffman of SHS.

"Uncommon" was awarded best screenplay.

"All White," produced by Sam DeFrank, Ben Heydt and Lucas Vitalos of SHS, won three awards: best cinematography, best editing and best picture. The film depicted a surrealistic dystopia and focused on the dangers of social and religious conformity. The filmmakers spent an estimated 20 hours to complete the film, in addition to attending all their regularly-scheduled classes.

"Since we only had six days and four locations, it was hard to get in all the right places and film in that short amount of time," DeFrank explained. "The more we did it, the better we got at it. We just never slept."

Selected entries from the film festival were shown on RCN 6 to 7 p.m. May 25.