President Obama Hosts White House Film Festival: Steve McQueen, Lala Anthony, Michael Ealy, Terrence J, Amber Riley Attend [Photos]

Angela Simmons, Terrence J, Lala Anthony

On Friday, President Barack Obama hosted a film festival at the White House’s East Room.

Hilary Swank, President Obama

For the past few months, K-12 students submit short films about this year’s theme: The Impact of Giving Back. They received more than 1,500 submissions from around the world and, on Friday they showed 15 Official Selections. Obama greeted attendees:

Welcome to the second-annual White House Film Festival. It’s like the Sundance or Cannes of film festivals that are open to the public through a government website. It may also be the only film festival where one of the entrants has his tooth loose.

Celebrity guests and media attendees included: Hilary Swank; E!’s Terrence J (who emcee’d the event); Lala Anthony (who spoke to students); Amber Riley (who spoke to students); Michael Ealy; director Steve McQueen; Kal Pen; Angela Simmons; Joe Morton; producer Will Packer and others.

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