The film club is being brought back to Central. Meeting once a week every Tuesday, the film club teaches students the basics of filmmaking. Students receive a lecture on filmmaking for 30 minutes and then gather in small groups to brainstorm their own ideas in hopes of creating a film.
Mike Juarez Blanco, a sophomore at Central, has a passion for filmmaking, storytelling and making new friends.
“If you ask any of my old friends about it, they would say I’ve been passionate about it since I was in the fifth grade,” Blanco said.
Blanco started the film club because he went to South High School for a week and was in their film-based classes and thought that Central was missing the core of filmmaking, as Central has theatre and broadcasting.
This school year Blanco asked his friends and followers on Instagram if they would be interested in a film club. People were interested, so Blanco started the journey.
Starting the film club wasn’t easy. “I had to have patience, which is always the case in film making,” Blanco said.
He originally wanted to start the club last year as a freshman but was a bit nervous at the outcome.
Blanco got in contact with Brody Hilgenkamp, the journalism adviser, at Central. Hilgenkamp thought he was well-suited for adviser of this club.
“With film club there’s a lot of overlap in skills, and interest between journalism and film making so it was a somewhat natural fit for me,” Hilgenkamp said.
Hilgenkamp enjoys “being a part of a club where students are willingly engaging in activities.” He has done activities like this before in projects and in past jobs.
“My first job out of college was video editing at channel 7 (KETV),” Hilgenkamp said. Hilgenkamp has a background in film making and editing films and seemed to be excited about working with Blanco and his club.
Since Hilgenkamp is the journalism teacher, he is used to students doing work in his classes for a grade, but with the club, students are doing the work based on their interests.
“It’ll be an interesting change of pace for me and a different type of storytelling than what I typically interact with,” he said.
The plans of the film club are to have the small groups finish their own films, and Blanco would like some sort of film festival where students get to watch their films, share them with others and get feedback.
“Everyone has their own story, so what is yours?” Blanco said.
Blanco wants the students to keep the film club alive as there used to be a film club at Central. Blanco wants to keep the film club fun and let students bring out their creativity.
