Many students are artistically inclined with seemingly no place to express themselves or their interests. With technology and software growing rapidly, those businesses are becoming more popular for graduating high school students to pursue. The Warren Hills Film Club is a great place to work with editing software, meet new people, explore different projects and to express your creativity.

Club advisor,  Mr. Richard Patricia currently teaches Film classes levels one, two, and three and is the Film Club advisor. 

Patricia has been with the school for nine years. He taught  Television, Radio and Digital Media courses at Warren County Technical School for 17 years before coming to Warren Hills. He has worked with many radio stations and several films. He has worked on shows such as The Phil Donahue Show and The John McLaughlin Show.  

This year, Film Club has two very involved students – juniors Natalie Luongo and Emily Wetenhall–and they are eager for new interested students to join them. 

“We have a lot of opportunities in the Film Club. You’re not just stuck in one position. You’re not obligated to only filming or only editing. You could be the director or behind the scenes,” Luongo said. ”If you are more interested in editing, or more comfortable with one thing compared to another, you have control of what you partake in. Another reason to join is Mr.Patricia. If you need something you can always go to him and he’s very understanding. He understands that students have a lot to deal with, at school and at home. That’s what I really admire about him.”

Wetenhall agreed.

“The club is open to anyone. The community is super safe and more than welcoming,” she said. “Mr. Patricia is honestly one of the best teachers I have ever had. He’s extremely understanding. He really cares about his students and their mental health. It’s very refreshing being in his class and in the club.”

With the media industry only growing over the years, Film  Club is a great place to gather some experience with creating your own personal films. 

“One of my personal favorite films was one of the first projects this year. The assignment was to make a film that was inspired by another work of art, whether it be song lyrics, a movie, literature, etc,”  Luongo said.  ”I chose the song ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin. I had the idea of a sixties housewife finding out her husband had been cheating.”

“My favorite film project is also from that same assignment. I picked the song, ‘Prom Queen’ by Beach Bunny. It’s about self-image and beauty standards pushed onto young women,” Wetenhall said.  “So I made my film about how draining it is to grow up with them. In film you are able to really express yourself and make yourself  heard. I loved that project because I could cover something I was passionate about.” 

“When the project is finished, it’s so fulfilling. To see what an idea can form into and to see it come together is very exciting, especially after putting so much time and effort,” Luongo said.  “You just feel accomplished.”