A Hicksville native’s short documentary “Notes on a Page” was one of the many films shown at the Made in Huntington Film & TV Festival from Thursday, April 3, through Sunday, April 6.
Jennifer A. Uihlein is the director, cinematographer and editor for “Notes on a Page,” which has been seen at 19 different film festivals and has won multiple awards across the world. Her 13:34 story depicts a middle-aged single mother of three, played by actress Jennifer Silecchia, who is trying to believe in herself again.
“Often, particularly as women, we are confronted with the profound challenge of setting aside our personal interests and ambitions to meet familial responsibilities,” Uihlein said. “In these quiet acts of sacrifice lies a strength often unseen, yet deeply transformative, shaping not only our own stories but also those of the lives we nurture and influence.”
“Notes on a Page” played on the second day of the festival during the art, music and romance shorts program section. The film was one of 36 to be shone during the four-day event.
For Uihlein, it was not a simple path to creating her latest documentary.
After growing up in Hicksville, Uihlein went to Fordham University, where she began studying criminal justice. She was in college at the same time as the highly publicized O.J. Simpson trial was taking place in California.
“It dawned on me that I could not morally or ethically defend somebody who is potentially guilty,” she said.
Uihlein switched her major and began studying creative writing and journalism. She started her career as a journalist, but layoffs made her pivot her career toward filmmaking and storytelling.
She made her first film in 2004, titled “Saying, I Do,” about equal access and rights for equal love. Uihlein’s second film in 2008, “Hicksville, 11801,” followed the evolution of Hicksville and its cultural expansion.
Uihlein then worked at other jobs until deciding to pick the directors’ hat back up in 2023. She said she was concerned about whether she would still be able to put a film together due to changes in technology and the current landscape of media making.
“The film addresses dreams deferred and highlights the internal struggle between life’s obligations and personal aspirations, and how sometimes we abandon these dreams quietly, but they still continue to persist within us,” Uihlein said. “So here I am doing this documentary and here’s me as the filmmaker going through the same thing.”
She said documentaries should be “moving” and that creating her first film after a long absence has motivated her to get back into filmmaking.
“Our greatest stories aren’t merely written on pages or captured on film; they are imprinted upon the hearts and minds of those we touch,” she said. “Recognizing the lasting power of our words and actions challenges us to live, speak, and inspire intentionally, for we are the authors of more than our own narratives—we shape the stories of future generations.”
