Last year, English as a Second Language (ESL) students at Westerville Central High School formed a group called the Central Voice Club. They created a powerful, 15-minute documentary titled We the People, which features interviews with ESL students at Central who talk about the difficulties of fitting in at high school while learning nuances of a new language and culture. They also shared personal struggles about coming to America from often war-torn countries, where they had to leave friends, family members, and possessions behind. Their film was recognized by the Westerville City Schools Board of Education and others, and received rave reviews throughout the region.
Recently, Central Voice students edited the video down to five minutes to meet the criteria of the Ohio Shorts Festival, and sent it to the competition. They just received notice that We the People was one of 22 short films selected for showing at the festival, out of 130 entries submitted from around the state. Ohio Shorts will be held on Saturday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. in the Film/Video Theater at the Wexner Center, located at 1871 North High Street in Columbus. A Jury Award ($500) and an Audience Choice Award ($300) will be announced at the reception following the screening. Each entry selected for the showcase will receive a $50 screening fee.
The edited version of We the People can be seen at https://vimeo.com/257948346/58a726e2bf.
The mission of Central Voice is to promote understanding and friendship between people from diverse cultural backgrounds and to be a bridge to the wider school community through activities and events. The pupils named their club Central Voice because it honors both the fact that they go to Central High School and because it “gives voice” to their experiences as teenagers who are immigrants and minorities.