Emerald Ridge High School video production students demonstrated their filmmaking prowess at the Puyallup School District’s annual 86th Avenue Film Festival, hosted by Rogers High School. Building on an already impressive season, the Jags took home 5 top awards and 17 nominations.
Sophomore Jayden Hull won for best directorial debut and best use of props for his film “Dropping In”. Senior Espi Carlos won for best use of dialogue for her moving film “I saw it differently”. Shijee’a Cody-Yazzie won for best performance for a film she made with fellow sophomore Kari Wescott. And Mr. Scott Fry won best performance by a staff member for his emotional battle with Securely in “Oh Gnome”, a film by sophomores Journey Eidswick, Luke Jefferies and Shay Wilson.
Also nominated:
Film of the Year: Espi and Jayden.
Best Use of Props: Julie, Jayden, sophomore Valeria Hurtado-Felix and senior Phoebe McClanahan.
Best Cinematography: Espi and senior Julie Sun.
Best Dialogue: Senior Corbin Cook and sophomore Christian Quintero.
Best Performance by a Staff Member: Mr. Philip Anderson (film by senior Ben Burch), Mr. Ben Muehlenbruch (film by Jayden) and Mr. Chris Tavern (film by Deimos Robertson and Elizabeth Silveria).
This marked the third film festival ERHS student participated in 2026. Students won multiple awards at both the Pierce County YESS Film Festival in May and the Clock Tower Film Festival in March.
Watch ER’s winning films below:
DROPPING IN by Jayden Hull
I SAW IT DIFFERENTLY by Espi Carlos
MEMORY LANE by Shijee’a Cody-Yazzie and Kari Wescott
OH-GNOME by Journey Eidswick, Luke Jefferies and Shay Wilson
RABBIT AND ME by Julie Sun
NOT ALL BATTLES by Ben Burch
THE LOST WALLET by Corbin Cook and Christian Quintero
THE DUMB DETECTIVES by Valeria Hurtado-Felix and Phoebe McClanahan
FINAL ADVENTURE by Deimos Robertson and Liz Silveria
