Weston Magazine Group Weekly
WESTON TEEN WINS CABLEVISION FILM AWARDS
On June 7, Cablevision awarded prizes to Weston High School junior Michael Bogaev for two of his films, distinguishing him as the only young filmmaker to win in two categories: First Place for No Going Back, a PSA on teens texting while driving, created with Weston classmates Andrew Harwood, Nathan Katz and Alex McCall, and Third Place for his documentary, The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Our Moral Imperative, which he wrote, directed, produced, edited and narrated.
No Going Back follows a young woman as she leaves for school in the morning; as she begins to text while driving, we hear the frightening sound of a crash, at which point the film replays in reverse motion, depicting her typical morning routine, including a warm hug with her mother just before leaving the house. The PSA ends with Bogaev’s powerful warning: “All it takes is one split second, and you can never go back.” Earlier this spring the film was selected to be the CT Department of Transportation’s television commercial when it won First Place at the CT DMV/Travelers Teen Safe Driving Contest. Bogaev hopes the PSA will help to lower the ever-climbing mortality rate of distracted teenage drivers. Asked how it felt to create such a successful piece, he responded, “the real success will be if it helps to save lives.”
The Weston Forum
WESTON TEEN WINS FILM AWARDS
Michael Bogaev, a junior at Weston High School, won awards for his work on two films, a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on driving and texting, and a documentary on the Syrian refugee crisis.
Michael wrote, directed, produced, edited and narrated his documentary, The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Our Moral Imperative. The film was one of nearly 3,000 global entries.
The film documents the monumental challenges faced by war torn Syrian men, women and children desperate to make their new home in America at a time when they are unwelcome by the current administration.
Weston Schools Superintendent William McKersie praised the film as a “remarkable and extraordinary achievement,” and requested that all K-12 Weston teachers and Board of Education members view the film. “This is a prime example by a student to achieve Weston’s lofty goal of fostering global citizens,” McKersie said.
Michael said he was inspired to make the film when he learned about the devastating plight of the refugees. He entered it into the contest just several days before Trump’s travel ban made the crisis the most controversial and debated issue in the news.
The film includes moving footage of the refugees as well as clips from interviews Michael conducted with Congressman (D-CT 4th) and refugee advocate Jim Himes; a courageous refugee and mother Manal, who endured months of hardship in camps before finally resettling with her five children in Wilton; and Steven Hudspeth, director of the Wilton Interfaith Action Committee.
Michael has already taken home four film awards this year in just three contests. In addition to the two Cablevision awards, he received Honorable Mention in C-Span’s International Student-Cam Contest, and took First Place in the State of CT DMV-Travelers’ Teen Safe Driving Contest. In a little over two months, his films have brought in $8,500 in prize money, including $6,000 for Weston High School’s video department, run by Geoffrey Brencher.
The Weston Forum
C-Span presents video awards at Weston High School
Representatives from C-Span cable network came to Weston High School on Thursday, March 30, to present awards to two Weston students in the C-Span StudentCam competition.
Surrounded by town officials, family, faculty and students, C-Span representatives La’Shawna Saint-Preux and Jenae Green presented Michael with certificates signed by the founder of the company, Brian Lamb.
Nearly 3,000 students from across the country entered the competition, in which they were tasked with creating a short documentary about an issue they would like to see the new presidential administration focus on. Of those, 150 entrants received honors.
Michael’s video, Our Moral Imperative, documents the hardships of living in Syria in the current political climate while advocating for refugees in America.
Michael said he was initially going to do a video about equal pay for men and women, but decided to focus more on an “international crisis” rather than a social issue.
He interviewed a Syrian refugee named Manal who is currently living in Wilton. He also interviewed CT Representative Jim Himes.
“We’re here to honor an outstanding 11th grade student,” said First Selectman Nina Daniel at the ceremony. “This competition was truly fierce, and Michael has made the town rightfully proud.”
Daniel said the production value of the video was “extraordinary” and “far surpassed what would come out of most 11th grade classrooms.”
Principal Lisa Deorio called the awards “tremendous honors” for the school.
“Weston High School is so proud of you,” said Deorio. “You are clearly thriving, and we are very lucky to have a student like this.”
Weston schools Superintendent William McKersie spoke about Weston’s overarching goal of creating global citizens and sending “great people” into the world to become leaders.
“This piece embodies becoming global citizens and the idea of excellence with compassion,” said McKersie. “This is the embodiment of great minds thinking and applying those thoughts for a greater good.”
The Weston Forum
Weston students win prizes in C-SPAN’s video contest
C-SPAN announced on Monday that students at Weston High School were winners in C-SPAN’s national 2017 StudentCam competition.
Michael Bogaev won honorable mention and will receive $250 for his documentary, Our Moral Imperative.
“Altice USA congratulates Michael Bogaev on this achievement. The students that participated in this contest tackled issues that were important to them, their community and our nation. Altice USA shares C-SPAN’s commitment to providing educational opportunities for our young leaders to engage in their communities and have their opinions heard,” said Lee Schroeder, senior vice president for government and community affairs at Altice USA.
The Weston Forum
Weston students win DMV teen safe driving contest
For the second year in a row, Weston High School has won the statewide DMV-Travelers Teen Safe Driving video contest.
The winners of this year’s contest were announced Monday by Connecticut Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.
The challenge of the contest was to create a 45-second public service announcement-style video demonstrating the theme “One split second …” to show why it is important for teens to focus on safe driving.
More than 400 students from nearly 40 schools participated in the contest, submitting more than 150 videos.
Second-place winner was Haddam-Killingworth High School, followed by East Lyme High School in third place.
For first prize, Weston High School will receive $6,000. Students on the team will get $1,250 [plus a $1,000 bonus] to split equally in gift cards.
As a special bonus, a professional film crew is meeting with the students to professionally refilm the video to make it suitable for an ad campaign for the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The winners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony on April 13.
The Weston team’s winning video shows a female teen making a careless choice by texting while driving and getting into an accident. The video then rewinds to show the girl’s day-to-day activities before she stepped behind the wheel. It finishes with the tagline, “All it takes is one split second and you can never go back.”
Wyman said she applauded the contest participants for getting involved. “Teens talking to teens is an important part of the safe driving conversation; it will help keep our roads safer for everyone. Congratulations to our winners — and thanks to all the students who participated,” she said.
DMV Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said the video contest’s safety messages are especially important following a report last fall by the national Governors Highway Safety Association showing that teenager-involved road deaths increased nationally by 10% in 2015 compared to previous years.
“We are proud to be a part of the DMV-Travelers Teen Safe Driving Video Contest each year, which gives teens a platform to talk to each other about changing behaviors and safer driving,” said Eric Nordquist, of Travelers. “Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who participated in the ongoing effort to raise awareness about the importance of staying focused behind the wheel.”
The videos will be used to raise teens’ safety awareness through peer-to-peer conversation. The Weston High School video will be featured in advertising by the DOT Governor’s Highway Safety Office. DOT is a leader in the state in preventative measures to stop distracted driving and has received federal grants to study the behavior among motorists.
This was an especially good week for Michael Bogaev. He was also a winner in C-SPAN’s national 2017 StudentCam competition.