I was part of a 48 Hour Film Competition back in April '07 where every team of filmmakers was given an identical script that was open to interpretation. When we were screening all of our little projects, I remember there was one team from a high school that knew all of the judges really well. Turns out he did many, many little film competitions, and because of that, he had connections people can only dream of.
Talent doesn't necessarily mean having to buy really expensive equipment. I believe that most people can see talent when they see what you can do with what you have. If you can find yourself some local student film competitions to enter, the people overseeing them are already on the lookout for up and coming filmmakers.