It’s a bold move for any 18-year-old to talk about rape culture in their high school, but Gabby Hendrickson isn’t fazed by anyone’s pearl clutching.
The Righetti High School senior’s short film Morning After tackles the subject of rape, chronicling one morning in the life of a young student after she has been attacked. Hendricks is one of 20 young filmmakers whose work will be featured at the 20th Annual Righetti Film Festival on May 5 and 6.
“It’s really an opportunity for students to get to express themselves,” Hendrickson said. “It’s another art form.”
Twenty years ago, Robert Garcia, Righetti High School film and broadcasting teacher, decided to launch a film festival to showcase the hard work of all of his students.
“We were making all these films, and I realized nobody is watching them,” he said. “But film is for the public. So that’s how the idea got started. I didn’t think we were going to do a second one but here we are.”
According to a press release from Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, many of the students in Garcia’s film class are getting concurrent credit from Allan Hancock College’s Intro to Motion Picture and Video Production. The district plans to expand the credit partnership next year.
“Taking this course has greatly influenced me, by giving me a taste of what an actual college course is like,” student Tony Cavalleo stated in the press release. “This program has given me opportunities I didn’t think were possible while still in high school. Already I have learned many different film techniques … and all while being in high school and not having to pay college tuition.”
While many come to the class sparked by curiosity rather than dreams of Hollywood gold, most of Garcia’s students stick with the class for several years before graduating.
“In the advanced class, most of the kids have been here for two to four years,” Garcia told the Sun. “They take a lead on the festival.”
He said the film festival isn’t just open to Righetti students; students from other area schools have participated in the past as well. This year’s festival also includes work from a student from Orcutt Academy High School.
For young students beginning to find their voice in the world, film is a vital way to express themselves politically, emotionally, and mentally. Film also offers an easy way to show others what those feelings and opinions are, Garcia said.
“The students like movies,” he explained. “It’s an art form that they enjoy doing. They like the idea of working together. It’s their passion, they like creating things. They see the world a little different than the rest of the world.”
Righetti’s film classes mainly focus on storytelling, with little emphasis on elaborate special or graphic effects. Students learn how to transform their emotions about certain topics into a narrative that translates on film.
After 20 years of overseeing the classes and festival, Garcia said students’ cinematic interests, as well as their goals and influences, have changed significantly.
“At the beginning, I always ask what are your goals,” he said. “This year for the first time I heard students say, ‘I want to be a YouTube star.’ There might have been a time when everyone would mention Francis Ford Coppola as an influence. I throw out that name now and there are blank [stares].”
Hendrickson, who also serves as the president of Righetti’s film club, said she produced, wrote, and directed her film as a way of starting a dialogue about rape culture in America.
“It’s something I see often in society, with sexism, with people not being heard,” she said. “It’s something I’ve come in contact with. I think it’s important for people to see my point of view.”
She assuaged any doubts she had about making the film by soliciting friends and family about her script. Then she turned to Garcia for help with how to tell the story without going too far in the imagery.
“The issue is how to show a lot of things that are just implied,” Hendrickson said. “I’ve definitely had mixed reviews. Some people think it’s too far or it’s not something for a teen to be talking about. Most people understand how important an issue it is for me.”
Hendrickson said she never considered film as a career or creative path until she was placed in Garcia’s class as a transfer student. But once she saw the enthusiasm of her classmates, she was hooked.
Now she’s considering a future in film production.
“[A film] is like your baby,” she said. “You get the idea, you write, you storyboard, you fall in love with it. To see everyone else’s reaction to the film you worked so hard on is incredible.”
Arts and Lifestyle writer Rebecca Rose can quote dialogue from almost every Francis Ford Coppola movie. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 4-11, 2017.
