Catalina Foothills High School Media
Program Produces Award Winning Director

TUCSON - January 25, 2009 - As if his life was scripted, Sam Medina just got the green light on his dream to become a filmmaker. The Catalina Foothills High School senior attended the International Student Film Festival in Hollywood this past November, winning the award for Best High School Drama for his short film titled "In the Dark."

Medina says he has always loved movies, and watching old Humphrey Bogart films with his mother inspired him to start creating them. In the seventh grade he picked up his stepfather's video camera and started filming things.

When he reached his sophomore year at Catalina Foothills High School, Medina was eager to sign up for the media production classes taught by Allen Haeger so that he could learn more about filmmaking.

"I just fell in love with it,” Medina said.  “I love everything about storytelling and what it takes to make movies.  I love stories that allow you to touch your audience emotionally and to get your message across visually."

As Medina started looking for a college to attend, he and his parents noticed that the Pima County Joint Technological Education District (JTED) program at Catalina Foothills High School has newer and better equipment than some film schools.

 "I'm very pleased with our setup here and I'm very grateful for all the equipment we have," Medina said. He hopes to attend either USC or Chapman University in Southern California.

It took Medina eight hours to shoot "In the Dark," a project he worked on with 12 friends while attending a summer program at Northwestern University. He finished 16 hours of editing and postproduction work in Haeger's Advanced Media Production class.

"When I arrived at Northwestern, I felt I was far more prepared than the students from a lot of other schools,” Medina said.

Medina says he's leaning toward becoming a director because he enjoys collaborating with all the people it takes to make a film. Two of his favorite directors are Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.