Six film critics recently took on what could have been a daunting task. They screened 30 student-produced films from Riverside High School, not sure what they would see.

What they learned surprised some of them -- the amateur movies were actually pretty good.

"I was surprised at the level of sophistication some of these high school students have, at their level of humor," said Jim Carl, a guest critic and senior director at the Carolina Theatre.

The films, all under five minutes long, comprised claymation, animated shorts and live-action pieces.

The movies were made over the past several months in art teacher Helen Griffin's classes. The work often overflowed to afterschool and weekends.

The culmination of the work was last week, during a Saturday-night screening of the movies at the "Pirates of the Silver Screen" film festival, where the $5 ticket proceeds went to the PTA.

Many of the films starred students and even faculty. Viewers saw Riverside Principal Jim Key stalking the halls looking for truant students in "Detention."

They watched a series of public-service announcements the students created about recycling and teen pregnancy. They watched a satire of a presidential debate, starring Riverside teachers as the voices of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

The debate, scripted by Kevin Privalle, at one point focused on Obama's frequent use of the word "change."

"I can help change. I want to change. When I buy fast food, I use ... change," the Obama caricature spouts.

The student producers were put at ease by the audience's laughter during the clips intended to be humorous.

"It was really exciting to show people what we've been doing all year," said senior Luke Demarest.

The guest critics commented on each of the films, particularly impressed by some of the students' craft at editing, their scripting and some of the dynamic cinematography. One film appeared to be shot from a moving skateboard, for instance.

This is the second year Griffin and students in the National Art Honor Society have put on the program, using digital video and audio recorders and consumer video editing software including Windows Movie Maker and imovie.

"These kids are really tech-savvy already," said Griffin. "What they need is a combination of creative thought and technical skills. There are ways for us to harness the skills these kids have and notch it up."

Not all of the technology was available through the school, however. Though school computers worked some of the time, they crashed frequently during film editing, the students said. The students often relied on their own personal computers to complete the films.

Griffin also said the group spent about $6,000 on supplies and equipment for the festival, including advertising, hard drives and a DVD burner. The costs were covered by donations from sponsors and some money from the school, she said.

The process was a challenging one, the students said. Things went wrong, a lot. The filmmakers had to work in production crews, collaborate and give and receive constructive criticism.

"I think everybody's movies got better through other people's advice," Privalle said.

Although Griffin implements film production and editing into the art courses she teaches, she said she hopes Durham's high schools will be able to offer digital arts classes for students to better prepare them for the technology being used in the art world.

"Look at YouTube," Griffin said. "Professionals are getting jobs just putting stuff on YouTube. It's just a great opportunity."

Griffin is hoping students will be able to pull together to create a third film festival in 2009. Meanwhile, interested parties may purchase $15 DVDs of the entire film collection from Griffin by calling 560-3965 ext. 65104.