Four Emerald Ridge High School seniors earned awards at the third Clock Tower Film Festival, held March 4 in the ERHS commons. The event brought together student filmmakers from ER, Puyallup and Rogers. It is the first of two Puyallup School District film festivals this year.
Emma Renda, an ERHS senior, took first place with a video set to the the 1966 Daughter of Eve song “Hey Lover”. Lukas Thompson tied for first in the Best Storytelling category with a humorous love story told using the 1963 Ronettes song “Be My Baby.” Espi Carlos and Elizabeth Silveria tied for first in best animation with videos set to “Coffee” and “The Wolf at Winter’s Gate” respectively.
Several students were finalists. Senior Julie Sun was a finalist for best editing and best storytelling. Junior Tucker stokes was a finalist for best performance and best overall. And sophomore Gabe Forman was a finalist for best animation. Renda also was one of the top vote getters for editing. Several other ERHS students received votes.
The nine-person judging panel consisted of past winners, industry professionals and college film students. More than 100 students competed in the event.
The festival was organized by students in the Emerald Ridge Technology Student Association, who coordinated the event with support from several Career and Technical Education programs: students from Mr. Jauch’s Business Marketing program, Mrs. Bender’s Graphic Design class, and Mr. Leonard’s Mechatronics classes.
This year’s festival adopted the name Clock and Rock Film Festival to highlight its music‑video theme. Each student selected their song from a randomly assigned list rather than choosing their own. They were then encouraged to craft original interpretations and creative visual storytelling.
The next Puyallup School District film festival will be the 86th Avenue Film Festival hosted by Rogers High in late May and early June.
