On February 22, the Dallas Film Society announced that three Hockaday short films were accepted into the North Texas High School Shorts Showcase which will screen at the Dallas International Film Festival in the middle of April at the Angelika Theater in Dallas.

The Dallas International Film Festival awards professional filmmaking but also honors exceptional high school works. Films that were recognized this year include “Delivery!” by Lexie Chu and Whitney Middlekauff, “Foxberry” by Sadie Lidji and “Just Like Me” by River James Brooks.

For senior River James Brooks, this will be be his first time attending the festival. His film tells the story of a little girl who tries to buy a doll that looks like her but finds that the store doesn’t offer such thing.

“Personally, I go through that a lot because there aren’t a lot of positive representations on people who look like me, or people of color, in the media,” Brooks said.

However, two of Sadie Lidji’s films from her sophomore and junior year have been honored in the festival, but “Foxberry” will be her first stop-motion animated short to be featured. The plot follows a fox who stumbles into a community garden and has a face off between the farmer whose berries he eats. This lighthearted film also differs from her her past, dramatic films, including “Witch Hunt” and “Kiss the Boys and Make them Die.”

Lidji said, “one thing I’ve learned over the past years in filmmaking is that everyone gets better with every movie you make. So the only way to improve is keep applying your creativity.”

Chu and Middlekauff’s “Delivery” is also a stop motion animated short where a girl goes on adventure to deliver a gift. Completing this film over a course of eight hours for three days straight, Middlekauff and Chu each brought different things to the table to make a successful film. While Chu focused on animation, Middlekauff took charge of artistic production. For both of the seniors, they have volunteered or attended Dallas International Film Festival in the past.

“The most exciting thing about DIFF is getting to see what other people your age is creating or professional directors. Everyone there really loves film and understands how much work it takes. It expands your world past the film bubble at Hockaday,” Middlekauff said.

The Dallas International Film Festival will take place from April 14-24 at the Angelika Theater in Dallas.

Aurelia Han – Staff Writer