FAIRVIEW, Tenn. (WTVF) — Five Fairview High School students won first place nationally in a Student Television Network silent film competition for their project "Mixed Signals."
The film is a story told from the perspective of a deaf person adjusting to hearing aids.
The winning team includes Ava Schuster, Charley Coole, Ben McCormack, Adam McCormack and Kody Jenkins. The story follows a character experiencing anxiety while adapting to new hearing aids, including scenes depicting panic attacks and the overwhelming sensations of sudden sound.
"What if we kind of made it from someone that is unable to hear, that their life is automatically silent, what if we do it from their perspective?" Schuster said.
"The hearing aid was uncomfortable, it was playing loud ringing noises in her ear, and she had a really rough time," Ben said. "In one of the scenes, she has a huge panic attack and she goes into the bathroom and she just crushes down on the floor."
Jenkins was responsible for filming the project.
"Film has always been something I'm interested in," he said. "And it's usually me annoying my friends to be able to go film something."
The students were surprised by their national recognition, with several saying they never expected to win such a prestigious award for their first major film project.
"We won first place nationally and we were just – floored. We were like oh my goodness, this is amazing. We were so excited," Schuster said.
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