San Angelo Youth Film Festival Showcases Elementary Students' Movie-Making Talents

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Fort Concho Elementary School students received a taste of what it is like to be at the Oscars last night at the San Angelo Performing Arts Center at 82 Gillis St. David Hooks is a fifth grade teacher at Fort Concho Elementary and he is the driving force who brings the San Angelo Youth Film Festival to the kids and their families.

“The first time we held this in May 2013, we were in our hot, 100-degree gym and the popcorn was just a little too salty,” said Hooks. “I learned really quick that you can’t put something like this together by yourself. With the help of some of our parents and the people here at SAPAC, we have been able to make this a better experience.” SAPAC stands for the San Angelo Performing Arts Center, a non-profit, three-theater complex built for shows like this.

Mr. Hooks started teaching the kids how to create small projects using iMovie after Fort Concho Elementary received Mac computers and iPads in 2013. The projects were turning into something very special. So, Mr. Hooks thought about ways to showcase his students' projects in a fun way, while getting the parents involved.

“Our kids' parents started hearing more and more about the kids' projects and then we found out that some of our parents were on the SAPAC board and we were able to make this a larger event because of their participation,” stated Hooks.

This year, there were six groups from the Fort Concho fourth and fifth grade that presented their projects. The types of projects the kids submitted are called “sweded” movie trailers. The term “sweded” comes from the 2008 Jack Black movie “Be Kind Rewind” and basically it means home movie style. So, the kids picked a school-appropriate movie and they “sweded” it.

The kids creating these projects had to focus on their 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. “The 4Cs is what film making is all about,” said Mr. Hooks.

The movies the groups “sweded” were Rampage, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Harry Potter, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ghostbusters, and E.T.

There were nine categories for the film winners; Outstanding Costumes, Outstanding Editing, Outstanding Special FX, Outstanding Props and Settings, Best Actress, Best Actor, Kids Choice Award, Best Picture, and People’s Choice Award.

• Outstanding Costumes: Harry Potter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Ghostbusters
• Outstanding Editing: E.T., Star Wars, and Rampage
• Outstanding Special Effects: Star Wars and Ghostbusters
• Outstanding Props/Setting: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, and Rampage
• Best Actress: Anabel Wiegand
• Best Actors: John-Adan Elizondo and Derek Fisher
• Kid’s Choice Award: Rampage
• Best Film Project: E.T.
• People’s Choice Award: Rampage

The kids got to run to the stage and collect their certificates and their trophies while smiling big as the paparazzi (parents) snapped photo after photo.

This year the only participating school was Fort Concho Elementary, but plans to expand this film festival to all elementary schools is in the process. “My hope is to open the festival up to the entire district within the next 2 years, with a high school documentary category that would award a scholarship to the student with the best project,” said Mr. Hooks.

Youtube links to the projects will be uploaded to this story once they are available.