TriplePlay Screens in Hollywood

Posted on May 20, 2014 by J Lauren Kim in News

Lauren Kim

On Saturday, May 17th, New Media Academy Juniors and Seniors showcased short films at the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Blvd at 1:00 P.M. TriplePlay is a 90 minute showcase of short films hosted by the American Cinematheque. Each school had about 20-30 minutes long to showcase their films. It consisted of the best work of films from students from three different high schools, Cleveland, John F. Kennedy, and Hollywood during the current year.

Manriquez, NMA Video Production and Film teacher said, “We’re going to choose the highest quality films for the TriplePlay. We are focusing mainly on the Seniors and Juniors. There are ten films that the students produced, which is about 70 students. Out of those ten projects, the teachers from the other schools and I are going to pick the best video to be screened.”

TriplePlay is not a contest, it is a showcase. The reward of this showcase is the privilege and honor to be screened at the historic Egyptian Theater, available to 650 people, because not all films will be shown. It is a great experience for someone’s movie to be screened at a real movie theater.

Christian Lehnig, NMA Junior, was chosen to screen his movie, representing Hollywood, at the TriplePlay. Christian and his crew worked on their film with the help of three NMA teachers, Mr Bitran, Mr. Manriquez, and Ms. Faegan, for about two months. It consisted of two weeks for creating the story and script, one week for filming, and the rest of the weeks for editing. The official cast of the film who were used was SAS students Tony Sanchez and Nicole Salvuk, while the lead was played by the very talented PAM student, Aaron Ramirez. The story of the movie had to be on a created character that makes a change in the world. Specifically, their movie was about a teenage boy who gets hit by a car and gets amnesia, and faces an identity crisis while trying to help those around him.

“I am incredibly honored and it is very excited to have our film on the big screen at the Egyptian Theater. It proves that even though we suffered through late nights, hard work pays off tremendously. The project taught my team and I the values of dedication and took us through the exact process of making a movie and finishing something we worked half a semester for. This was also the first film I have ever worked on, especially so heavenly on, and inspires me to continue in the movie industry.” (Christian Lehnig).

The screening was open to the public, therefore everyone was invited. The American Cinematheque generously gave 100 free tickets for the students’ families and cast members. The remaining tickets were charged to be $5 each, which is half the price of an original ticket. Due to American Cinematheque’s deep generosity, it was appreciated that the audience purchased refreshments, like, popcorn, soda, and candy to benefit from their generosity in allowing TriplePlay to such a great venue and time of the day.

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