Over the last five years, high school and college students from Santa Barbara have been earning the chance to showcase their own films in what is known as the 10-10-10 Student Screenwriting and Filmmaking Program.

The 10-10-10 competition is an event in which 10 student teams create a 10-minute film within the ten days the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is held in February.

City College’s Film Studies department chair Michael Stinson helped establish the link between local schools and the festival. He said the competition was created to “encourage student film makers to create new work and get it recognized by industry professionals.

“It gives priceless exposure for the students,” he said.

Until 2005 the competition was only designed for directors, but last year a contest was created for screenwriters.

Students from the Brooks Institute, UCSB, City College, and area high schools are welcome to submit their work. Five high school students and five college students are chosen from the directors and the screenwriters group.

Before the festival, the student directors got o a boot camp at City College.

At the camp is a cinematographer, an editor, a producer, and a screenwriter who show the students the process of putting together a film step by step, and then make a film with the help of the students.

Last year, professionals included screenwriter Jeff Arch, who wrote “Sleepless in Seattle,” and the editor of the blockbuster “Titanic.”

“Roger can bring in practically anyone,” said Stinson of the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s director, Roger Durling.

When the screenwriters are chosen, they are given a mentor to help them write a script on a theme they are given.

They have longer than 10 days to write the script, as they will be paired up with a student director to work on a film together at the beginning of the festival, which, Stinson says, is very true to how the industry really works.

The director then, based on the script, puts together a team of actors, editors, filming crew and whomever else they need to make the film. Stinson describes the 10-10-10 competition as “one of the most exciting aspects of the festival.”

Some of the students who have won have received top-of-the-line Canon camera sets which they have used to go on and make films. Many students have gone on to attend graduate school at UCLA or USC, or straight to Los Angeles to get into the industry.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has been in business for 23 years.Expanding every year, guests come from all over to experience the 10-day event.

Highly acclaimed actresses, actors, directors, producers, editors, screenwriters and Oscar-winners have been known to attend.