Dearborn High School’s (DHS) film program earned a record of 7 awards in the National Academyof Television Arts and Sciences
Student Production Awards (Student
Emmys), marking the most awards
the program has ever received in a
single year.
The wins recognize student
work across multiple films produced
throughout the year, including
“America’s Sweetheart”, “Man-Made”,
and the music video “Landslide,”
with students earning top honors
in categories ranging from writing
and editing to cinematography and
acting.
“America’s Sweetheart” led
the program with four awards,
winning Best Short Form Fiction,
Best Writing, Best Photographer,
and Best Talent (Acting). “Man-
Made” earned Best Long Form
Fiction, while “Landslide” won Best
Music Video and Best Editing.
DHS senior Jesse Good,
record breaking director and writer
for America’s Sweetheart, said he
played a major role in developing
the film.
“I directed a big movie [for our]
class called America’s Sweetheart. I
co-wrote it,” he said.
Good said the number
of recognitions exceeded his
expectations.
“This year we won almost all
of the major awards for the creative
categories and the categories that
we always compete in, and having
this be my senior year it was very
rewarding to be the director of
a movie that wins alot of these
rewards,” he said.
He also said the production
process included time constraints
and scheduling challenges.
“We had to film one scene,
clean up everything in 10 minutes,
and then drive to Detroit to a
location we were paying for by the
hour,” he said.
DHS senior Ameena Toumi,
who also took part in directing,
filming, writing, and editing in
films such as “Man-Made” and
“Landslide”, said the recognition
reflected the team’s effort.
“It was really exciting,
because we all put in a lot of hard
work on the movie, and it’s nice to
see recognition of hard work,” she
said.
Toumi said she contributed
across multiple areas of production.
“For ‘Landslide’, I directed it, and I
wrote it, and I produced it, and for
America’s Sweetheart, I helped [with
the] sound,” she said.
She also said that
coordinating classroom schedules
created challenges during
production.
“I think our biggest problem
for ‘Man-made’ was people’s
schedules. It was hard to work
around certain things to the point
where we had to recast some people,
because it just wasn’t working out.
But I think all of the hard work was
rewarded,” she said.
DHS senior Evelyn Tavarez, a
producer for ‘Man-Made’ and actress
in ‘Landslide’, said the recognition
reflects the effort students put in
throughout the year.
“Like Ameena said, it always
feels super good to be recognized for
your hard work,” she said.
Tavarez emphasized that the
awards serve as a long-term goal for students in the program
“ The Emmys (Sciences
Student Production Awards) is what
we work towards all year. That’s the
whole reason that we make projects,”
she said.
She also said that
collaboration became especially
important during difficult moments
in production.
“We had to really realize
that it was not us against each other.
It was us against this project and
getting it done together,” Tavarez
said.
DHS filmmaking teacher
Adam Rauscher, said the program’s
success reflects the work and
dedication of students over time.
“I inherited a great program
with a long tradition in history, and
my first worry was that I would not
ruin that. And then I wanted to
improve our reputation. I wanted us
to win more awards. I wanted us to
compete for national awards. We’ve
been nominated at the national level
the last three years in a row. And in
three of the last six years, we’ve been
nominated at the national level for
best movie. I would stress that it’s
the students’ accomplishments. It is
not mine,” he said.
Rauscher said the program’s
structure requires months of
planning and production from
students.
“These movies take all year
to make. The students start writing
their scripts over the summer. Then,
they submit their scripts at the end
of September. The class votes on
what scripts we’re going to make.
Then the crew members all pitch,
so the directors pitch themselves
to be the directors, the producers
pitch, the photographers pitch. So it
just really depends on the students
and, if they want to do it or not.
And then, after the pitch process,
then, we go through preproduction,
and then they film. And the filming
starts in November, it goes through
December. And hopefully finishes by
the end of January, and then they do
the editing, and then we submit the
movies at the end of February,” he
said.
He also emphasized that
collaboration is one of the most
important parts of film production.
“Teamwork is tough. It is
about figuring out who is best at
every job. It is figuring out how to
manage egos, how to get the best
work out of people. And that is the
hardest thing to teach. Because, you
know, teenagers are still learning
how to do that kind of thing. And,
you know, every year, I’m trying
to help people to work together,
to bring out the best in each other,
because movies made by one person
fall flat. The greatest movies are
when everybody on it is doing their
best work. Like a production team
and stuff,” he said.
All in all, DHS’s
record-breaking success at the
Student Emmys highlights not
only the talent of its student
filmmakers, but also the dedication,
collaboration, and year-long effort
that goes into each production.
The awards reflect a program that
continues to grow in ambition and
achievement, with students and staff
working together to bring creative
ideas to life at a high level.
