WHS students produce two of the top six films in state

Student filmmakers at Wimberley High School have proven to be a creative force and formidable competition in the annual UIL Young Filmmakers Festival, producing and directing a 5th place state finisher last year and already have two in the top six this year. Making it to state this year are The Bread Run, directed by junior, Declan Duggan and Aberration, directed by seniors Braden Gary and Dylan Byrne. The WHS films stood out among 768 entries and 4 rounds of competition. The teams spent hundreds of hours writing script, creating a storyboard, filming and editing their competition films.

“Our film teams are ecstatic that they are in state competition again, especially to have landed two films in this very competitive festival. These students have put in long hours, even working through their holiday, getting the shots just right and in the perfect light. This work ethic, along with boundless talent and teamwork have proven to be the secret to success,” said Greg Dydalewicz, Career Technical Education Instructor and Film Coach.

“It is an honor to mentor, guide and teach these students and very rewarding to see their hard work earn them much-deserved recognition,” he added.

“I’m glad that I can share my passion with the school and be recognized for it. It’s a really cool experience to be part of something like this in high school,” said Duggan.

Duggan worked with his twin brother, Justin Duggan, who was the main and only actor in The Bread Run.

“It’s kind of a relief that it is over because I lost so many hours of sleep that last week when we were finishing the film. It was definitely rewarding because the hard work we put in showed in the final product,” said Gary.

The films are available for public viewing on the Wimberley ISD YouTube channel. The WHS young filmmakers will find out the results of the state competition on March 5, at 7 p.m. at the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin.