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Photograph by Sarah Gaffney
Film Fan: Westmont junior Bret Dalton took his love of film to school.
Public Citizen
And the Oscar Goes To ...
Bret Dalton's brainchild is an annual film festival for Westmont High
By Sarah Gaffney
Bret Dalton wanted to do something good for his community, so he organized a film festival. Not just any old film festival, but the first-ever student film festival in his community, Westmont High School, where the entrepreneurial Dalton is completing his junior year.
"I thought of it one day in English class," recalls the first-time festival organizer. "It was a reading day and I happened to be done with all the reading ... and I thought, 'Well, I'm not going to do any reading, so I'm just going to think about how I can give back to my community' ... there must have been something about that day that just inspired me."
The novice filmmaker, who picked up a camcorder a couple of summers ago and has been a filming fiend since, decided that an annual film festival would benefit the kids at his school who may not be active in clubs, but still have something to contribute to their student body.
"A lot of the students who never seem to be involved are suddenly really stoked about this and really excited about this and are turning in films, too," says Dalton, who screened seven student films at last Friday's festival. "It's a creative outlet for people, it offers a very poignant way of expressing emotion and getting a message across and I think that's essentially what people want to do."
Dalton shopped the idea around to some friends who wholeheartedly backed him. He then wrote a proposal for how he would organize and screen the film festival and presented it to the school's Associated Student Body. To his surprise, the ASB gave him the thumbs-up to launch the filmfest, the only glitch being that Dalton had just two months to do it.
"There are a lot of steps and I'm so stressed out right now. I may not look stressed, but I'm stressed," says Dalton, who looks just a little harried. But it was just two days before the festival and he was still editing his own 20-minute action film. "The ASB was behind me one hundred percent. It was great. Just to have all those people behind me, it's like, okay, I'm not going to let you down."
Dalton wrote the festival's submission guidelines (under 20 minutes with no illegal activity, swear words or gratuitous violence); solicited submissions; and organized a viewing community to yeah or nay submissions. Last Friday evening, festival audience members selected best film, director, actor and actress, screenplay, and cinematography.
When asked what movies inspire the aspiring actor, he quickly names a heartwarming favorite for many moviegoers.
"I think Forrest Gump takes the cake," says Dalton, who is contemplating entering his short films in local festivals. "First of all, the plot was just completely original ... and I think a measure of the success of a movie is if you actually feel something and I definitely felt something with Forrest Gump."
Dalton's passion for film has brought not only the festival, but also a new class to Westmont. Next year the high school will add film editing to its curriculum.
"It's a pastime, definitely, that a lot of Americans love," says Dalton, who says he prefers a good flick to a good book. That may explain why the idea came to him in his English class. "Even if you're going out on a date, it's 'Hey, you want to catch a movie?'" Not, 'Hey, you want to read a book?'"
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Campbell, California
