CFS Wins Silver Telly Award for Pageant Documentary

Church Farm School, a private college prep boarding and day high school for boys, announced today that its “Why the Chimes Rang: A History of the CFS Christmas Pageant” documentary, released in December 2020, has earned a Silver Award in the General – Non-Broadcast Not-for-Profit category in the 42nd Annual Telly Awards. The Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens and is judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks and production companies including Netflix, Dow Jones, Duplass Brothers Productions, Complex Networks, A&E Networks, Hearst Media, Nickelodeon, ESPN Films, RYOT, Partizan and Vimeo.

 

Church Farm School was founded in 1918 by The Rev. Dr. Charles Shreiner, an Episcopal priest who wanted to create a school for fatherless boys like himself. The boys, as young as 10, lived and worked on the farm in the mornings (often rising as early as 4:30 a.m. to milk cows) and participated in academics and athletics during the afternoon. Now a college prep school, Church Farm School primarily serves young men with academic ability who otherwise would not be able to afford private school. In 1924, the founder adapted the popular short story, “Why the Chimes Rang,” by Raymond MacDonald Alden into an annual Christmas performance, acted in pantomime by students in period dress, directed by faculty and accompanied by organ and choral music. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the inability to perform what would have been the 96^th Annual “Pageant,” as it is simply known, Church Farm School decided instead to create a 35-minute documentary about one of its most beloved traditions. The school interviewed current and former faculty and students, board members and longtime fans, many of whom have attended Pageant for decades and with generations of their families. You can watch it on YouTube.   

 

“In the face of a year like no other, Church Farm School has continued to defy the limitations of our new world, in continuing to create compelling and engaging work,” says Telly Awards Executive Director Sabrina Dridje. “This year’s submissions doubled down on what we already know about the industry. Creativity cannot be stopped. Collaboration will always prevail. New ideas and stories will always find a way to break through to an audience.”

 

Says Head of School The Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill II, “We knew that we could not jettison one of our favorite traditions due to the pandemic, and that it was more important than ever to celebrate the Christmas season with our community, separated physically by Covid-19, but never far from our hearts and minds. This ‘love letter’ to Pageant is Church Farm School’s way of honoring the many people who have brought Alden’s narrative to life for the past 95 years, as well as the legion of supporters of the school who, like the procession of characters in the story, give gifts both large and small that help sustain Church Farm School’s mission of providing an exemplary education at a reasonable cost to deserving young men. We are so grateful to The Telly Awards for honoring our work.”

The May 25 winners announcement caps a year-long celebration of creators defying the limitations

by embracing platforms to increase awareness about injustices and promote solidarity for

movements, as well as geographical, like developing fully remote pipelines for dispersed teams.

This year also saw the continued expansion of new categories to reflect and celebrate new

forms of producing work in light of the past months restrictions and limitations. New categories

included Remote Production, Virtual Events & Experiences and an increase in animation

categories. Last year, The Telly Awards attracted more than 12,000 entries from top video content

producers including Adobe, Adult Swim, the BBC, Condé Nast, J. Paul Getty Museum, PBS,

Playstation, RadicalMedia, T Brand Studio, Ogilvy & Mather and The Walt Disney Company.

The full list of the 42nd Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at www.tellyawards.com/winners.

 

Church Farm School is an independent boarding and day school for boys in grades 9-12 located in Exton, PA. Founded in 1918 to provide an excellent education to young men from disadvantaged backgrounds, Church Farm School now serves boys from a range of socio-economic circumstances who are seeking an extraordinary educational opportunity. The school offers a challenging college preparatory curriculum and an exceptional level of personal attention, with class sizes averaging between just 7 and 12 students. For the past 10 years, 100% of Church Farm School graduates have been accepted to leading colleges and universities, including Cornell, Vanderbilt, Swarthmore, Princeton, Lehigh, Brown and more. Learn about the school and its mission to provide educational equity and access at gocfs.net.