Lights, camera, action! Rolling cameras for the past 15 school years, DBHS Brahma Cinematics Club has hosted its annual Doppelganger Film Festival–a film festival and competition that highlights several student-made films in various categories.
This year’s winners were My Dearest, Jane Gallagher by Saturday Rojas and Sarah Rojas, The Day I Fell in Love by Eva Yu, Summer is Ending by Zao Han, Katipunan by Troy Pisigan, Beggin by Isabella Wang, and Pick Ur Brain by Kora Trinh and Natalie Tsai.
The winners for the individual categories were Joy Hata for best writer, Xai Noriega for best editor, Jasmine Chen for best actress, Leonardo Barradas for best actor, and Nataly Sun for best actress.
Hosted through Brahma Cinematics, students who aspire to have their films featured in the festival submit their work to club advisor Mario Enriquez with the entry form and their video. A student-run judging panel views all the submitted films and ultimately has the final say on which films are featured at the festival.
“The Doppelganger Film Festival is a showcase of all student films,” said senior festival organizer Saturday Rojas, who produced the film My Dearest, Jane Gallagher based on The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.
“It’s a really good way to sort of be able to express yourself creatively through film and also be able to see what other people have in store,” Rojas said.
Creating an entry for the film festival is no easy feat. Some projects can take several months just to film. Several also choose to remain quiet about their project to avoid outside influences.
“I think it’s really hard, especially depending on your experience level,” junior Nia Ramos, who submitted Track, A Theatrical Trailer, said. “But even the most experienced creators would have an issue with it because it’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of time.”
Filmmaking was rather new for several of the participants. So for many of the entries, more than a single person contributed.
“I worked with a lot of my friends because I wanted to try experimenting with something I hadn’t done for the first time. We all just used our skill sets,” said Senior Kora Trinh, who submitted the film Pick Ur Brain.
Winners of the categories are decided by the same student-run panel on the day the films are screened. There were various categories for films, such as best music video and best short film, along with more individual categories, such as best actor and best director. There are numerous ways for participating students to take home an award.
“So we do have trophies similar to the ones that are shown at the Oscars and they do say your category and the year and I personally really love,” said Rojas. “But also if you do win the eye-opener category we are partnered with Reach to Mental Health and you will get a 500-dollar scholarship.”
Many who participate in the festival enjoy being involved with the festival, with filmmaking being a common passion. Several are also actively involved with Brahma Cinematics, which serves as further encouragement for them to be a part of the film festival.
“I think I’m pretty proud of it,” said Trinh. “I got to work with my friends and it’s definitely something I wanted to try out for a while . . . It also felt like closure since it is my last year and my first year winning an award.”
Film-making, especially for a competition, can be quite daunting. Although, many in Cinematics encourage potential future applicants to give it a shot if they are up for it.
“Make sure you have your heart in it,” said Ramos. “Make sure you know what you want, and if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it.”