Pacifica Stories

The Pacifica-produced SCREEN Student Film Festival is one of the largest student film festivals in Southern California, receiving over 100 submissions from more than 40 high schools all throughout the region this year. The festival strives to build community and affirm the resilience and creativity of student filmmakers in Los Angeles and beyond. Read about the 17th annual screening and awards ceremony that took place last Thursday night at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. 

The Pacifica Digital Production classes are charged with producing the SCREEN Film Festival each year– this means selecting the 14 lucky films that will be shown at the screening, choosing the order to show them, and creating their own films for the show. Each year, four Pacifica films are included in the festival, but exempt from receiving most of the awards to avoid bias. 

The shorts this year were a diverse representation of the best high school filmmaking from throughout Southern California, spanning across a wide range of genres and styles. Some films provoked existential thought, such as “I Am Proof of Something” from Harvard-Westlake School, which followed a human silhouette journeying through various scenes to communicate the human need for connection and belonging. Others opted for humor, such as “A-6007” from Laguna Hills High School, an ironic story about a general and scientist attempting to stop a robot attack. Still others chose to share a deeper message, like “Weathered” from Canyon Crest Academy, which focused on three teenagers sharing personal stories of struggle, resilience, and growth in an exploratory documentary that highlighted the ability of teens to weather tumultuous mental, social, and emotional inner battles. All of the films chosen were an incredible display of talent from their directors, editors, producers, actors, and everyone else involved!

Award-Winners

The Pacifica Digital Production classes also decide which films from outside the Pacifica community will receive the six festival awards. The award for Best Cinematography went to ‘Dead Leads,’ directed by and cinematography by Eion Nunez from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. This suspenseful black-and-white short featured a1940’s L.A. detective trying to solve a murder case with a young cop. The use of light and shadow throughout the film earned it this award.

Best Editing was awarded to ‘Room’ directed and edited by Jack Downing and Lauren Smith from Providence High School. This was a music video for the song “Room” by Bloodshot. The exciting and intricate cuts made this film stand out in terms of editing. 

The award for Best Directing was won by ‘Default (English)’ directed by Quinten Franks from the Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts. This film follows a student who, while experiencing a rough day at school, is plagued by self-aware subtitles insistent on messing with his perception of his life.

Best Writing and Best of Fest were awarded to the same film, ‘artist.’ by Tahlia Pompel from El Dorado High School. This short explored the inner monologue of an artist who feels trapped by her fear of vulnerability and criticism, yet cannot deny her artistic nature. This incredible film resonated with many who call themselves artists, and was well-deserving of both awards!

The final award, the Fan Favorite, is the only award that is able to go to a Pacifica film. The audience votes for their favorite live after the screening. This year, Pacifica’s film ‘Dungeon Master,’ written and directed by Sean Goedecke and William Reimers, took home this award.

Pacifica Films

We are so proud of the four Pacifica films that were submitted to this year’s festival. The first Pacifica film shown was ‘Reimagined,’ directed, edited, and cinematography by Javin Woolen. This was a short documentary about local Venice collage artist Jay Kelly and his unique creative process. The second Pacifica film was ‘Camera Obscura,’ written and directed by Elijah Segal, cinematography by Sean Goedecke, produced by Amadora Paola, and an original score by William Reimers. This film, dedicated in loving memory of Laura Segal, focuses on Marc, a man who has been followed by a Camera for several days and must finally confront it, which also forces him to reveal what he has been going through in the days previous. 

Next was ‘Onion Soup,’ written and directed by Clementine Herold, with cinematography and editing by Javin Woolen, original score by William Reimers, and starring Nona Margot-Goddard, Ben Quinn, and Sofia Fierro. This short explores a father-daughter dynamic as they discuss whether you can or can’t share a bowl of soup. Lastly, ‘Dungeon Master,’ written and directed by Sean Goedecke and William Reimers, cinematography and VFX by Sean Goedecke, and starring William Reimers, Jonas Williams, Harper Mehl, Beckett Hawley, Zane Worth, Anna Mori, Jo Tilford, and Lily Battaglia. This short follows a group of friends on their final day of senior year in 1986 as they play their final Dungeons and Dragons campaign. 

Congratulations, filmmakers and thank you to everyone who attended SCREEN 2024!