Video Production Team Wins First Place in Film Competition

The team shows off their first place trophy with Principal Robert Quinlan. Photo: The Video Production Team

By DARON SAMDANI and BESMAN HOTI

The Video Production Team came away triumphant from the 9th Annual BRAVE Video Contest awards ceremony on May 9, with their short films “Dreadful Days” and “Bruises of Words” collectively winning first place in the high school category.

The topic of this year’s BRAVE Video Contest was bullying, garnering over a hundred video submissions from public schools across NYC. Contestants were allowed no more than two videos per school, with each video lasting no longer than five minutes. The top three schools were awarded trophies along with cash prizes.

The group’s first submission, “Dreadful Days,” depicts the silent struggle of a bullied high school boy who lives through belittlement and abuse every day. The constant stream of bullying and negativity piles up in the victim’s heart. The film ends with him hurting his own friend in a misdirected fit of rage and running away in guilt afterwards.

The second submission, “Bruises of Words,” tackles cyberbullying. This film is about a high school girl who continuously faces insults from a Discord user. The film ends with the girl, desperate and miserable, slumped over on her bathroom floor, crying.

The Video Production Team’s work goes beyond just these films. They’ve also made documentaries and short films covering school events like sports games and special school nights.

“We’ve made a documentary on the library, we’ve made a documentary on the Midwood Argus, and we are also currently working on a documentary about the principal,” said Aidan Bronzino ‘23.

The team is a product of a few dedicated Hornets who collaborated with Mr. Henry Mei, Midwood’s Media Arts Teacher, to generate videography for film festivals and documentaries on more serious topics.

For a team that had just been revived this year, they have made quick progress, with $1,500 raised already.

The Video Production Team’s positions include directors, editorial roles, production assistants, graphic designers, and cinematographers.

“We are more like a family,” said Anel Yerdenayeva ‘24. “There are 25 of us but we are very close and we celebrate every win. We hang out a lot, and we like to think that contributes to our success.”