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Student movie makers finalists for film awards

Teens from Clayton Heights Secondary nominated in two categories at upcoming EyeLens Film & Animation Festival.
42498surreyClaytonHeightsSurreyfilmmakers
Budding filmmakers Adam Kleaman and Devan King

Adam Kleaman had to wash a lot of cars, mow a lot of lawns and save up a lot of birthday and Christmas money to buy his first video camera.

But when the Clayton Heights Secondary student finally had the $700 he needed, washing cars and mowing lawns took a back seat to making movies. Adam immediately teamed up with classmate Devan King and they have since made about 15 short films.

One of those films, Adult Beverage, has been named a finalist in two categories in the annual EyeLens Film & Animation Festival taking place April 21 in Victoria.

“Usually, we’re in front of the camera, but this time we were 100 per cent behind it,” says Adam of the process. “It was the most fun we’ve ever had making a movie.”

Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy and Outstanding Achievement in Youth Dramatic Filmmaking, Adult Beverage follows the story of four young campers terrorized in the woods by a pair of chainsaw-wielding hillbilly brothers, complete with a twist at the end.

Just over seven minutes in length, the film was shot last summer on Galiano Island during a week-long course at the Gulf Islands Film & Television School (GIFTS). Adam and Devan wrote, produced, directed and edited their film with a student from Langley Fine Arts School.

Adam and Devan, both 16 and in Grade 11, have been making movies together for the last couple of years and their chemistry is obvious. While they admit to sometimes having “creative differences,” a resolution usually follows some 30 minutes later and the film is always better for the discussion.

“We’re proud of what we’ve been able to do and we’re always learning, so we feel like we could really have something here,” says Devan.

 

WARNING: Film contains violence and foul language.