Inside the June 2 Samo film festival with Nicole Andrews

Adrianna DinolfoStaff Writer Every fifth and sixth period, the students of Samohi Film work eagerly on their fast-approaching event: the tenth annual Samohi Film Festival to be held on June 2 in Barnum Hall.As if creating and editing their own individual projects weren’t time consuming enough, the members of the program must also organize and shape the festival; this includes publicizing the event, communicating with local businesses, working non-stop on the day of the festival and producing an introduction video that corresponds with this year’s theme, German Expressionism. Prominent in the early 20th century, German expressionism is over-the-top and unnatural, utilizing bizarre angles and techniques.“The buildings are all slanted; there’s not a lot of straight lines. That gave us a visual look we could go with,” film teacher Bill Wishart said.The people behind this intricate process are this year’s coordinators: seniors Carolina Vazquez, Lisa Parker and Nicole Andrews and junior Alina Garcia Taormina. These four determined ladies collaborate to direct a festival for aspiring filmmakers all across southern California.“The festival is one of the most stressful things I’ve worked on,” Lisa Parker said, “but it is ultimately the most rewarding.”Before the students can even create a film, they must first pitch their ideas to the class. If the idea seems entertaining and doesn’t require too much time or equipment, it earns approval, or in film class lingo, a “green-light.”From there, the production process is in the director’s hands — it is her job to select a cast, write a script, film and edit.Senior Nicole Andrews was recently chosen as the silver medalist for the Regional Occupancy Program’s (ROP) Student of the Year award, a countywide award that recognized her accomplishments in the ROP film program.THE IDEA: Andrews first got her idea from a joke she’d heard. In this joke, a man sits alone at an empty bar. After hearing numerous complements from a disembodied voice, the man asks the bartender if he might know anything about what’s happening. The bartender, seemingly unaffected by this ridiculous question replies, “Oh, it’s the nuts. They’re complementary.”From this quirky joke, Andrews planned her production of this tale and presented it to the class. In honor of its punchline, she titled it “Complementary.”“The more pre-production you’ve done, the better the class will receive it and believe that you’re ready to create it,” Andrews said.THE PROCESS: Once the project was approved, Andrews wrote her own script. Her mother, who is involved in the film business, helped Andrews reach two professional actors, Fred Tucker and Will Ryan, for the roles of the man and the bartender.Coincidentally, Andrews has a friend who works at an ideal bar in a bowling alley, which provided the perfect place for this scene. Andrews borrowed from Samo the materials she lacked and went to work filming and eventually editing.“Schedules are organized for shooting, shooting is done, then it’s editing time,” Andrews said. “This is perhaps one of the most frustrating and satisfying jobs in the making of a movie, for me.”THE FESTIVAL: Andrews recently submitted her film and works on the festival itself in the meantime.“We have meetings, spread out, do certain little jobs, and that all comes together in the end to produce the festival,” Andrews said.Each person is assigned to a specific category and carries out a task in relation to his or her section. As a coordinator, Andrews contributed largely to the “letters” section of the operation.“Letters ... deals with contacting businesses and people and seeing if they can donate anything,” she said.“Anything” includes everything from equipment to food, money and publicity. Andrews also sends letters of notification to those who have been accepted into the festival and thank you letters to the local businesses who help make the festival possible.The Samohi Film Program is a part of ROP, which works to supply teenagers with experiences and opportunities much like those presented in the “real world.”“It’s a great opportunity for kids to try things out, and even if they do not pursue that profession, they have still learned valuable skills about conducting business in the real world,” Andrews said.In addition to benefiting the students within the program, the festival also reaches out to film students from other high schools in southern California, allowing them to submit their projects to be shown in the festival.“The festival invites other students from other schools to show their work so you get to meet other people making films and maybe connect with someone you can collaborate with,” sophomore and film program participant Leo Erickson said.By combining creativity and strict organization, coupled with enthusiasm for the program and what it stands for, the students of the Samohi Film Program are able to create something both memorable and satisfying.“The Film Festival is a great expression of the talent we have on our campus,” Wishart said.adinolfo@thesamohi.comA bit of Samo's filmmaking history:Samo alum Sean Penn was in a position similar to Andrews’. Upon being asked about his student film by the Samohi in 1978, “The Loner,” Penn responded in the following ways:SAMOHI: Why do you choose movies as your form of self-expression?SEAN IN 1978: Because it’s expensive. I’m a person of class, I’m loveable, tamable, and available. Also, I plan to go into some aspect of films in the future.SAMOHI: How did you discover the star of your new movie?SEAN IN 1978: He was loud and abnoxious in the Quad, and you couldn’t help noticing him because of his height.SAMOHI: What inspires you to write screenplays?SEAN IN 1978: My past films were inspired because they enabled me to film various gory gunshot wounds, and violence that I adore.SAMOHI: What about the new film, “The Loner”? I was inspired by this past school year; and the fact that I’m not able to do my homework. I wanted to see if I was able to motivate myself to do something like this. Different people as far as the actual story is concerned, motivated me, and it will be a project for me to be doing this summer. I know I can make an incredible movie out of it; I’ve got a good cast and an incredible screenplay. Also, I wanted to introduce a bit of New York slime to California.