Cameras flashed as glittering starlets gathered to celebrate the premiere of their movies. Long hours of hard work and dedication put in by each class came together and resulted in the presentation of four class movies.

Night of the Stars, a campus tradition presenting the school with the opportunity to showcase the talent and abilities of students in the areas of acting and film production, was held at the Tower Theatre on Feb. 22.

“The idea for Night of the Stars came around when I was a senior,” Christopher Schultz, student activities director, said. “A group of students were at an ACSI student council meeting in Santa Cruz and during a brainstorming session we came up with the idea of making movies for our formal in order to make it more entertaining.”

Many students see the production of the class movie as an opportunity to participate in activities they enjoy.

“I have been helping with the class movie for all four years,” Sam Fisher, ’03, said. “I love coming up with ideas with friends and making these ideas work. Plus, it is exciting to see the finished product shown in front of the student body.”

Although the class movies are the highlight of the night, many students feel it is the atmosphere of the event that makes the evening special.

“Night of the Stars is an unforgettable event,” Kathleen von Oehson, ’04, said. “My favorite part of the night is being able to get all dressed up. I also enjoy being with friends and the night is a great time to make memories with friends.”

An award ceremony during the event recognized campus students and rewarded them for their efforts. The main awards included Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress, and Supporting Actor and Actress.

“It was really an honor for me to receive the Best Actor award,” Greg Tharpe, ’04, said. “I worked really hard on this movie and this award was the most I could hope for. This is a big encouragement for me, since I plan on making acting my career.”

The class of 2003 captured the best picture award for their dramatic film Pretium Libertatis. Closely behind were the Juniors, followed by the Sophomores and finally the Freshmen. This year most of the participants and judges were blown away by the outstanding film produced by the class of 2006, who received second place in the People’s Choice Award.

“We worked really hard to write a good script that contained humor and wit,” Brandon Cain, ’06, said. “We exceeded everyone’s expectations, as well as our own. We are looking forward to producing an even higher quality movie next year.”

After the outstanding movies put forth by the classes this year, students will be hard pressed to surpass them in the following year. According to Schultz, it will take hard work and dedication.
“It takes trained core students to make the movies,” Schultz said. “Next year students need to be willing to put in the extra effort. The school sometime in the future needs to hire a teacher willing to put in the hours, spending late nights and often weekend to complete the films.”

For additional information on purchasing class movies, leave a message with secretary Yoko Kilbourne in the high school office, ext. 126.