SANTA MARIA, Calif.– The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District sent out the press release below about the 2024 Central Coast Film Society Student Showcase.
Righetti High School film students shined during last weekend’s 2024 Central Coast Film Society Student Showcase, earning two of the three top awards.
Rafael Atilano-Baustista (12th grade) won for Best Screenplay for Indifference. Samuel Cornejo (11th grade), Nathan Freeland (11th grade), Adan Garcia (12th), Andres Cornejo (12th) and Ethan Guy (11th) won Best Technical Achievement for Five Nights at Righetti 2.
Schools from Santa Barbara County, SLO County, and Monterey County were eligible to submit to the festival.
“I'm so proud of my students. They have worked very hard this year. We had a record number of films accepted into this festival and it's due to the hard work and dedication my students have. I'm so lucky to have such creative, engaged, and fun students.” – Media Arts Teacher Jacob Gustafson.
Warrior film makers found the experience engaging.
“Thank you to the Central Coast Film Society for this incredible honor. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and especially Sam, our group’s director, and Mr. G, our teacher, for enabling our success and pushing us further.’’ – Nathan Freeland.
“Winning an award at the Central Coast Film Society is something that I am honored to accept, the event was wonderful I met a lot of creative people. I want to thank God for this opportunity and my family for being there for me. I also want to thank my crew cause if it weren't for them than I wouldn't have been able to win this award, and I want to thank my teacher Mr. G for teaching me what I know. I hope to be included in their next events and I will keep continuing my passion which is making movies.’’ – Sam Cornejo.
“I'm thankful to the CCFS for this opportunity, and for selecting my screenplay into the competition. Having my screenplay selected and awarded is a big win for me and it has boosted my confidence in my filmmaking skills, particularly in my screenwriting skills. I feel proud of this accomplishment, and I hope I can give back as much as I've been given. I'm going to continue screenwriting and I plan to use this award to show what I'm capable of doing.’’ – Rafael Atilano-Bautista.
