There was a very special announcement in the Grade 6 Design Tech class last week. Students Boedy Tapia ‘27, Eliseo Hayes ‘27, and Ethan Juarez ‘27 learned that they won second place out of more than 400 films submitted for the Redford Center Stories Youth Filmmaking Challenge.
Continuing with their explorations in environmental justice through design thinking, Dora Chilton’s Grade 6 students created short films to submit to the Redford Center Stories Youth Filmmaking Challenge. Students from across the nation and the world were invited to submit a 90-second film telling their story about what environmentalism and environmental justice looks like.
“As part of our studies on environmental justice, the students worked in teams to formulate a specific call-to-action that people right here, right now, can take in big and small ways to address the environmental issues we’ve been exploring,” shared Chilton.
The winners’ animated film called “Island Home” was submitted in the “I Live Here” category, and tells the story of the human impact on our Hawaiian flora and fauna. The winners were announced by Coyote Peterson, conservationist and host of Animal Planet’s Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild, in a video on the center’s website.
Cole Weidman ’27, Talon Starr ’27, and Taylon Peter ’27 also won in the category of Best Special Effects for their stop-action animation of “History and the Future.”
The Grade 6 students’ films covered topics including effects of pollution on our local environment, health inequity, and conserving the ocean ecosystem. Clips from some of the student films were included in the “best of” montage compiled by the Redford Center and shared on their website.
The student filmmakers were honored in a special virtual event hosted by the Redford Center Stories on April 30, 2021.
