And…Scene! (Part 1/3)

Photo by Pixabay

When my kids were in middle school, they would write movie scripts with their friends and shoot short videos. They spent hours working as a group to complete their script. 

As their creative writing teacher, I loved it when they spent their free time working on the movie script. But truth be told, once they handed it to me to proofread--I was honestly shocked at the horrible writing! Lol! 

The plot made absolutely no sense, and you could tell the boys were heavily involved because, in every other scene there was a fight or battle. But the kids were passionate about the project, so I kept my feelings to myself and let them happily proceed. 

The kids discussing plot ideas in the van.

As a family, we have always loved movies. Still, the love of filmmaking died as everyone started focusing on other interests. However, once our family moved to Memphis, I heard about the Indie Memphis Crew Up program--it’s where they pair teens and local filmmakers up to create a film.

I applied immediately, but they were not accepted. 

However, I did not give up. In the summer of 2020, I signed Anaya up for a free filmmaking camp at the library, and she created her first short film with her phone. It was submitted to the Indie Memphis Youth Film Festival, and to our surprise, she won the “Rising Star Award”  for her film, "Pen Pal."

Anaya, online, receiving the Indie Memphis Youth Film Festival "Rising Star Award"

Anaya didn't win because "Pen Pal" was a great film. Instead, she won because the film festival jury noticed the thought and effort she put into finishing the project within the one week of camp. 

After the festival, to my surprise and wonder, Anaya declared that she wanted to study filmmaking in college! I had no idea that a summer camp could have such an impact on her future. I mean, I knew she loved to perform, but filmmaking was a totally new direction. We were all excited about the journey ahead.


Click here to read part two of this series: "And Scene...Part 2/3"