WBTV advisor Vidal Rivera and students gain national recognition

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by Sarah Perez

ON THE RED CARPET: Students of the WBTV club pose for a picture at the All-American High School Film Festival. Hosted in New York, the festival was an opportunity to submit pre-made films and shoot new films at the location for a period of three days. Photo courtesy of Britney Borish

The All American High School Film Competition is an annual event throughout the nation hosted in New York. High Schools across the country compete in various competitions, being judged on cinematography, visual effects, etc. At West Broward, only a select group of people are invited to the event.

At the festival, WBTV advisor Vidal Rivera was selected among teachers across the nation and honored as Teacher of the Year. Not only was Rivera awarded for his accomplishments, but his students were awarded as well.

“It is an honor to get invited because it is not an application,” said senior Mariana Montero. “You are selected for it.”

Rivera’s recognition did not surprise his students. They believe that one of the many reasons Rivera was selected was because of his goal to make his students as autonomous as possible when creating and editing films.

“I believe that winning the award is to honor my kids,” Rivera said. “It is what they did and what they accomplished that they recognized me.”

Alongside Rivera, some of his students had gained recognition for their own films. The film ILEA, directed by senior Samuel Correa, was awarded for Best Sci-Fi film, being recognized once again after being rewarded in various film festivals in the year prior.

“We had started working on it in November of 2020,” said senior Andrea Guzman, who was the co-writer for ILEA. “We also got nominated for Best Film overall, which is the first time in history for the program.”

The program is now preparing for the Student Television Network Convention, taking place in February 2022. The convention is held in Long Beach, Cal., where students can once again submit their pieces to be evaluated on a national spectrum.

“When we were creating the films, we were the ones that were producing things throughout the pandemic,” Guzman said. “When we went to the competition, we saw what everybody else was doing throughout the pandemic and it brought more inspiration to try out new things.”

“It is an honor to get invited because it is not an application,” said senior Mariana Montero. “You are selected for it.”

“He is always there whenever we need him, but the thing that makes him stand out is that he tells us to take it into our own hands so that we can figure out how to work it out by ourselves,” said senior Andrea Guzman, president of TV club. “Because that is how it is going to be in the future.”

Rivera believes that his own success stemmed from the success of his own students. The student’s accomplishments are what had given him the award in the first place.

“It is really the kid’s award,” Rivera said. “I did not do anything other than bring some very talented kids to me.”

Alongside Rivera, some of his students had gained recognition for their own films. The film ILEA, directed by senior Samuel Correa, was awarded for Best Sci-Fi film, being recognized once again after being rewarded in various film festivals in the year prior.

“We had started working on it in November of 2020,” Guzman said, who was the co-writer for ILEA. “We also got nominated for Best Film overall, which is the first time in history for the program.”

During the event, students are able to submit their own films and have the opportunity to watch others submissions. Not only do students submit their premade films, but there are opportunities to plan, shoot and edit their films in three days.

“In three days, you plan what you want to film and then you edit it all in three days,” Montero said.

“When we went to the competition, we saw what everybody else was doing and it inspired us to try out new things,” Guzman said.

POSE FOR THE CAMERA: Seniors Britney Borish and Mariana Montero are filmed for a music video, which is filmed and edited within three days. The video was featured on an AMC movie theater screen at the All-American High School Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Arianna Rivera