2023 TUHSD Film Festival

Tempe Union High School District is proud to celebrate our Film & TV program through our annual Film Festival. Film & TV students from Corona del Sol, Marcos de Niza, McClintock, Mountain Pointe, and Desert Vista were tasked to create feature films. All submitted entries had to include several required elements, including pops, characters, and lines of dialogue. Students could create films on their own, or work in small teams. Students were given a week from start to finish to complete their films for submission.

Required materials include:

Required Prop (A prop that must be visible at some point during the film):

Egg

Required Character (A character that must be mentioned by name at some point during the film):

Jessie the Trainer

Lines of Dialogue (Must be said aloud, or made completely visible during the film):

“I’m ready to try again, if you are?”
“Seriously, what is that thing over there?

Films ranked in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place for Best Picture, as well as in several other categories celebrating editing, scriptwriting, and best use of required materials.

The winners of the 2023 TUHSD Film Festival are:

1st Place: No More Boxes - Presidential Films (MHS) | Cloe Bolen, Mia Phielipp, & Tim Bolen
2nd Place: Deep Breath - Vacancy Visions Productions (CdS) | Jessie Crandall, Briana Gutierrez, Bella Rios & Joseph Rodriguez
3rd Place: The Sitcom Zone - What’s The Deal Productions (MHS) | Score: Jordan Allen, Mark Benkert, Lauryn Dunkley, Sophia Franz, James Kokanovich, Evan Rao, Caleb Samuelson, Esperanza Tines & Josh Turley
Best Use of Character: I Do It for Love - MPTV Productions (MP) | Evan Hartzler & Macie Logan
Best Use of Prop: An Unlikely Obsession - Capybara Jamboree Studios (MHS) | Isaac Lewis, Angelina Martinez & Joshua Whipple
Best Use of Required Dialogue: The Sitcom Zone - What’s The Deal Productions (MHS) | Lauryn Dunkley, Sophia Franz, Evan Rao & Esperanza Tines
Best Screenplay: No More Boxes - Presidential Films (MHS) | Cloe Bolen & Mia Phielipp
Best Editing: I Do It for Love - MPTV Productions (MP) | Evan Hartzler & Macie Logan
Best Cinematography: Deep Breath - Vacancy Visions Productions (CdS) | Jessie Crandall

A big SHOUT-OUT to Isaac Easley for MCing the night!
Thank you to our Film & TV teachers!
Thank you to Herb Stockes from Southwest Portraits for donating time and resources to capture the night's event.
Thank you to Deb Abley (MP) & Brittany Jaress (MHS) Culinary Students who catered the event.

2023 TUHSD Film Festival Judges

Isaac Easley, Master of Ceremonies - is an instructor in video journalism and innovation. Isaac teaches broadcast classes, produces promotional videos for the school, and works with students in Cronkite News on the Local TV News Innovation project under a Knight Foundation grant.
Sarah Happel Jackson - a Marcos de Niza High School alumna ('98) Sarah Happel Jackson is an executive producer with James Cordon's Fulwell 73 Production Company in Hollywood.
Michael Cudlitz - is an American actor known for portraying John Cooper in the NBC/TNT drama series Southland for which he won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama
Josh McDermmitt - is an American film and television actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Eugene Porter on AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Cedric Owens - was born and raised in [South] Phoenix, Arizona, (the Valley). He is an Alumnus of Northern Arizona University, (NAU) where he majored in Electronic Media & Film with a minor in Photography. During his time at NAU, Cedric was one of the first two students in the history of NAU to be nominated for an Emmy award. Upon graduating from NAU, Cedric went on to pursue a career in the production industry freelancing as a camera operator until 2014 when he accepted a position within the Creative Department at a highly regarded HBCU on the east coast. It was during this time that Cedric earned his 6 Emmy awards and 13 Emmy nominations.
Jake Owens (Independent Filmmaker/ Entrepreneur), is based in Los Angeles, CA, and a graduate of McClintock High School (‘08). He got his early start directing music videos while still in film school at ASU. He eventually made the leap to LA and has been directing music videos, commercials, documentaries, and short films ever since. He has developed several film & photography products as well as owns several film studio locations in the Los Angeles area. His work has been displayed on major television networks such as MTV, VH1, BET, REVOLT, ESPN, and more.
Syleste Rodriquez - is a graduate of Marcos de Niza and a member of the TUHSD Film/TV Advisory Committee. She is the co-host of Arizona Morning on Fox 10 Phoenix.
Darrin G. Ramage - over the course of the last 29 years Darrin has produced 19 successful films, such as Death Factory, Hell’s Highway, Goth, and Dark Places. Mr. Ramage is the President of film conglomerate M3 - Maxim Media Marketing, Inc and CEO of production facilities Sun Studios of Arizona.