By Izzy Ullmann ’17

As Sebastian Avila ’17 watched his film projected on a movie screen at the San Francisco Art Institute summer program, all he could do was hold his breath.

“I got the kind of feeling you get when you’re about to drop something and don’t know if you’ll catch it,” he said.

Avila was in a room filled with hundreds of other peers and their parents who were also showcasing films, and  he nervously wondered if his audience would catch his mistakes.

“The best part was at the end after all the applause, and we went around congratulating each other for all the awesome films we made,” Avila said.

Such applause and congratulation, however, is all but lost within the Staples community, Avila feels. Scattered throughout narrative film classes and T.V. production courses, student film makers have yet to form the same vibrant community here at Staples, according to Avila.

Narrative film teacher Justin Nadal also believes the culture of film at Staples still remains untouched.

“I feel as if it’s untapped in the sense that this is a garden for students to grow in and right now they aren’t planting the seeds in here,” he said. “They’re taking care of it on their own, but our goal is to make it a place where we are really doing awesome work in here together.”

However, there are efforts being made to establish  a stronger film community, and Avila highlighted the  Staples Filmmaking Club as a welcoming environment.

“Making  films  alone is nice,” Avila said. “But working on a team is much better due to the added addition, help and motivation.”

However, for Antonia Sousa ’19, a student who has been nominated as a quarter-finalist in the Tribeca Film Festival

“I didn’t even know we had a film club,” she said. “But having a group of kids who were also really into film would definitely be convenient.”

Despite not currently having strong unification among Staples filmmakers, Avila applauded the school’s efforts to promote it.

“Recently the school has had a couple of film competitions and shown students’ work, which I’ve been in,” he said. “Plus, I think they just  recently offered a chance to show your  films  in the  library during lunch.”

Nadal noted similar goals for promoting more filmmaking at Staples. He and his co-narrative film teacher, Geno Heiter, plan to open a southern New England film festival at Staples and premiere films made by students ranging from elementary school to college.

“The point of it is to draw attention to what we’re doing here and show that we are a progressive force in this region for regional arts,” Nadal said.

Gavin Berger ’17, co-president of the Staples Filmmaking Club, attested to the top-notch programs which Nadal wishes to expand.

“The programs here are amazing, and the two new teachers this year are great as well,” he said. “They both have a lot of experience in the real world, and it really gives the students great opportunities.”

As for Nadal, he is excited by Staples potential to further unite a community of filmmakers.

“I didn’t choose this place because I wanted to be mediocre and work in a mediocre place,” Nadal said. “I recognize that this place has an unending staircase of which we can climb because Staples has given us  that freedom and support  to  do  so.”