FRANCESCA VARESE

FVR films

EDUCATION:

12th grade, Harvard-Westlake School, Los Angeles, CA, 18 years old

FILMS:

• “El Deseo (The Wish)” – Narrative – 10 min. Director, Writer, DOP, Editor, Actor – Jan 2025
• Festivals: Seattle International Film Festival, Indy Shorts International Film Festival (Heartland Film), All American High School Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival, Burbank International Film Festival and Westflix Film Festival.
• “Songs of Hope” – Documentary – 5 min. Director, Writer, Camera – March 2024.
• Festivals: All American High School Film Festival, Boston International Kids Film Festival.
• “Mrs. Photograph” – Music Video – 5 min. Director, DOP, Editor – October 2025 (In Post)
• “Soledad/Solitude” -16mm B/W Experimental – 3 min. Director, Camera, Film Processing, Editor – May 2023
  
  

AWARDS:

• Young Arts – National Competition Winner – Photography – 2024
• Best California Student Film – Burbank International Film Festival
• Audience Choice Award & Best Cinematography for “El Deseo” -Westflix FilmFest – 2025
• National Silver Medal Winner for “Songs of Hope” – Scholastics Art and Writing Awards -2025
• Scholastics Art and Writing Awards – 4 Gold Keys for Personal Memoir, Photography and Film; 3 Silver Keys for Poetry, Flash Fiction and Photography – 2023 & 2024
• Getty Unshuttered – Winning photograph exhibited at the Getty Museum – Photography – 2024
• AP College Board – National Hispanic Recognition Award – 2024
• The National French Contest – Gold Medal Winner – 2023
  
  

LEADERSHIP:

• Director of Community and Outreach at Westflix Film Festival, Harvard Westlake (HW) – 2025
• LAHSO – Latin American Student Organization Leader – HW – 2023-2025
• Peer Support Leader -Student led group for Mental Health & Support – HW – 2024-2025
• Chair of Media and Promotion at KHWS, Radio station – HW – 2025
• Babel Magazine – World Language Magazine –Spanish Editor HW – 2023-2024
  
  

COMMUNITY WORK:

• Dolores Huerta Foundation – Volunteer Photographer – Los Angeles – 2022-2024
• The Honey Project – Photographer and documentarian – Chiclayo, Peru – Summer 2024
• Reading Partners–Reading and English tutor for underprivileged children – Online – 2023-2024
• Casa El Refugio – Caring for babies of Teen abuse victims – Gdl. Mex. – Summer 2023
• Senior Connect Volunteers – Photo/Social Media Manager – Los Angeles – Spring 2023
• Soup Kitchen Volunteer – Capetown, South Africa – Winter 2023
  
  

FILM RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE & EXTRACURRICULARS:

• Academy Museum of Motion Pictures – Selected Teen Council Member – 2022-2024
• Mad Chance Productions – Internship – Script Coverage – June-August 2024
• Guadalajara International Film Festival – Volunteer – June 2024
• School of the New York Times – Creative Writing Summer Program – July 2024
• Iowa Young Writers Workshop in Los Angeles – September 2024
• NYU Tisch Summer High School Filmmaking Workshop – July 2025
  
  

OTHER SKILLS:

Fluent in three languages and learning a fourth: English, Spanish, French, Italian