On February 25, Oak Forest High School students from the Bengal Film Production, Analysis, and Critique Club went to Lemont High School to see their entry compete in the SSC Film Fest. They competed against Lemont, Reavis, Tinley Park, Richards, and Shepard.
The title of the Oak Forest film was Pulse, starring Autumn Fuentes and Maria Carrillo, written by Paxton Neth and Suzy Lawson. The film follows two girls, one of whom is ashamed of her LGBTQ identity and then finally accepts herself. I asked the writers what was the source where they felt a certain inspiration/interest in the production. “The film was mainly inspired by the way LGBTQ people are being treated currently and how it affects how they feel about themselves,” Neth said. “We were inspired by the struggles of being queer and how people see it as being bad, when it isn’t,” Lawson said. I asked Neth about the film’s themes; the themes were acceptance and self-worth.
Mr. Frausto, the host of Film Production, is one of the people who helped with the production. I asked him about the purpose of the film. I also wanted to know whether watching Oak Forest’s film as well as other schools’ entries gave him any inspiring ideas for the future. “Yes, any film nowadays can be inspired by anything students see and watch, but I think it’s the way that other creatives tackle the same subject or same genre that truly makes films and stories unique,” Frausto said.
The SSC Film Fest was not only about trying to compete and win the festival but about viewing and learning about other people’s productions to help everyone view the storytelling and inspiration. These things will continue to bring inspiration to people and allow them to stay creative in their productions in the future.
