Columbia City High School’s Eagle Tech Academy hosted their annual student-made short film festival at Bones Theater at the beginning of this month. WBOI’s Ella Abbott sat down with the crew from each film to discuss the highs and lows of student filmmaking.
Under Your Nose was produced by seniors Kaylen Hendricks, Hayden Baker, Kaden Schnorr, and Ben Vogley, who describe the film as a comedic murder mystery about a man who wants to follow in his father's footsteps as a detective, but has been unable to pass the necessary exams. When someone dies at a party he's attending one night, he decides to solve the crime to prove himself.
Radiant is a coming of age story about a boy who builds a nuclear reactor in his garage. Inspired by the story of David Hahn, also known as "the nuclear boy scout," Cole Stafford, Lainey Wooley, Hannah Bone, Gavin Bentley and Drew Radosevich tell the story of a young genius with a fascination for nuclear energy, who finds himself being manipulated by a girl whose politically-leaning mother plans to profit off of his creation.
Jack Maley, Ana Harman, Logan Dunnuk, Jaxson Martz's Shattered tells a story of addiction from the perspective of those is can hurt. The film follows a teenage boy whose parents are struggling financially due to his father's addiction. When his father goes too far one day, the main character has to make some tough decisions on how best to help his dad, his family and himself.
In Can't Let Go, creators Riley Tucker, Ethan Sielsnew, Ethan Vance and Ricky Squire tell a dangerous tale of loneliness, connection and obsession. Two friends who've only ever played video games online run into each other by chance, but when one friend tries to leave, the other wants to make the visit last as long as he can.
Epiphany follows a young man who seems lost in his life and lacking motivation. He loses his job, spends all of his time playing video games and, when his parents are fed up, moves into his girlfriend's home. Creators Daylon Gerard, Andrew Galloway, Preston Watkins and Klayton Warner pulled from problems they felt people their age could relate to in order to tell this story of finding your path in life.
This take on the superhero genre follows a young man who's decided to fight crime under the mantle of Tin Foil Man. Created by Jonathan Peters, Alia Schuman, Sam Mullett and Sam Joseph, the story isn't a simple hero story though, as Tin Foil Man's mother isn't crazy about his nighttime adventures and insists he speak to a therapist about what is inspiring his recklessness and, eventually, learning how to be a hero without Tin Foil Man.
1:13 opens with a young man in rehab, sharing his path through addiction and to recovery. The story tracks his past with his ill-fated best friend as he dealt with his stepfather's abuse and the two of them found relief and connection in drugs. Creators Gabby Vanderford, Kota Porter, Rae Hull and Juno Johnson pull no punches in telling this story of addiction and loss.
Don't let the name and advertising fool you, Kiah Ward, Jessica Shawver, Taylor Law's Love Struck Disaster is far from your normal romantic comedy. The story follows a teenage girl who meets a boy on a dating app and, when they decide to meet up, finds herself in a dangerous situation with her lovestruck best friend coming to her rescue.
Dichotomy is the only horror film presented in this year's bunch. In it, Zoe Whitacre, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Winterrowd, Willima Harris and Kale Dillion created their own new urban legend following their cast of characters around. The witch, inspired by Russian folklore figure Baba Yaga, hunts down each person by using their greatest fears against them.
