The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Focus Elyria:
Elyria Catholic Film Club a fun place and more for students
Find more stories on activities in Elyria in a special section today in The Morning Journal.
Elyria Catholic High School’s Film Club continues to provide an outlet for students to wind down after school and cater to their interests in film-making.
This school year marks 13 years of Film Club and it has grown to be the among the most involved clubs at the school, according to senior Nicholas Ziegelmeyer, the club’s president and director of its feature-length film.
Every other Friday, students visit the classroom of religion, theater and film teacher Kevin Juguilon after the last school bell of the day rings.
Students who participate in Film Club take off their book bags, sit back, relax, enjoy a pizza and a favorite movie and popcorn combo with friends and classmates.
However, the students can also choose to explore further into the club through production by creating their own film.
“In general, this is one of the clubs that is the most involved in our school because it’s a very simple concept — you get to watch movies every two Fridays, and you get to eat pizza,” Nicholas, 17, said. “Most people like food and simple fun and it’s always a pretty relaxed atmosphere.”
Juguilon is the moderator of the club, and he said it creates a place for students just to spend time together outside of the classroom to make friends and feel more a part of the school.
“I think those are very important, especially if some people may be more academically inclined or athletically inclined, some people are still trying to figure it out,” Juguilon said. “At the very least, it’s a place where nothing is expected of you really. It’s a place where it’s just there for the students to enjoy themselves.”
Movies selected to watch are voted on by students in their previous meetings and then approved by Juguilon to make sure they don’t conflict with the morals and values of Elyria Catholic.
Some of the notable films the club has watched have been classic or current films like “The Green
“There is a sense of accomplishment when these students know they made something. I think there’s very few things that are a better feeling in the school environment than a sense of accomplishment, because again, some people don’t know what they want to do or who they want to be, but they say ‘we can do this.’”
— Religion, theater and film teacher Kevin Juguilon
Mile,” “The Godfather,” “Schindler’s List” and “The Avengers: Infinity War.”
“Every week is a brand new topic, it can be anything,” Nicholas said.
The club does have to raise funds to obtain a license to legally watch the movies, Juguilon said. Members will sell candy for the Film Club Movie License and to fund their film production.
Members produce an original full-length feature film which begins with script writing during the summer.
Then, there is directing, casting, filming and editing which begins at the start of the school year and continues until the film opens to the school and public in May.
Nicholas said this year’s 13th production — the supernatural thriller “Reapers” — has taken them to a number of locations throughout the city and county for filming.
The funds raised through the end-of-theyear public opening and candy donations provide opportunities for the students to better work with their creation, Nicholas and Juguilon said.
The school has also provided film equipment for the crew of students and support of their ideas, Juguilon said.
“The school has been so supportive with our ideas and supplying us with topof-the line software and equipment,” he said.
With the support of the school and the determination of club members, they have successfully created 12 full-length feature films, of numerous genres, on their own.
“It’s theirs and they have it forever when it’s done,” Juguilon said. “There is a sense of accomplishment when these students know they made something. I think there’s very few things that are a better feeling in the school environment
than a sense of accomplishment, because again, some people don’t know what they want to do or who they want to be, but they say ‘we can do this.’”
Nicholas said he is very involved in clubs, sports and activities at the high school and is planning to become a chemical engineer.
However, with the film production opportunity, he said he’s now able to direct a full-length feature, be part of a large production and get the experience of creating a movie.
“Film Club is one of those places where people feel OK,” Nicholas said. “Everyone’s doing the same thing where people have the power to see what they want. It’s an opportunity not many people get to have. These movies aren’t just small productions, they’ve taken hours of preparations.”
Nicholas said he came up with this year’s film idea when he was a freshman.
“Most of (the projects) are a labor of love that it’s the students,” Nicholas said. “It’s the students that are driving these forward. It’s not because Mr. Juguilon said we have to have a movie, no. It’s because every year’s students want to do a movie.”
Amy Butler, president of the high school, has a son Patrick who was part of Film Club and is a recent 2018 graduate.
Butler said she has seen firsthand how production works and has seen the finished product.
Students do work on a film in club, but they are also developing skills they may have not known they have, Butler said.
“The life experience (students) get in doing these projects, there’s no other comparison,” she said. “That’s where we are in education.”