PitchNic 2024

Celebrating Young Filmmakers: Spy Hop’s PitchNic Premiere at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center

November 7th, 2024 — Spy Hop’s PitchNic Premiere is a night of artistry, passion, and community. Each year, young filmmakers in Spy Hop’s prestigious PitchNic program dedicate a year of hard work to write, produce, and edit four short films: two fiction and two nonfiction. The culmination of their journey took place this year at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, where students debuted their films, showcasing their creativity, collaboration, and dedication.

These Utah teens have spent the last year crafting and perfecting their stories in one of the nation’s most respected youth film programs. Each film is a testament to their voices, experiences, and the friendships formed along the way. Here’s a closer look at the four films that premiered and the student filmmakers who brought these stories to life, as well as night-of quotes from the live Q&A with the crew behind the films.

Hija

In Hija, the filmmakers explored the complex emotions tied to being a first-generation Latinx daughter navigating the space between growing up, and their ties to home and their new-found independence. The film begins with three separate interviews featuring three Latinx women who share deeply personal stories of family, sacrifice, and the journey of leaving the nest. These women later come together to meet for the first time, while being filmed, and discover their shared experiences and build camaraderie in the comfort of knowing they’re not alone. The beautiful, airy cinematography and intimate b-roll footage capture the warmth and vulnerability of these moments.

When asked about what they hope the audience takes away from this film, Director, Abigail Tello, responded: “I feel like there’s a lot of good takeaways for this film. I wrote it when I was going through a tough time myself, starting college and understanding that I — it’s a lot of imposter syndrome, basically. And finding out this middle ground of ‘Oh, I’m so happy to be here — I’m so glad. My family worked so hard for me to be here.’ But also, if they worked so hard don’t they deserve some of this? ‘Cause why am I the only one experiencing it? These girls, and so many [other] people experience this, and we will just continue to grow and to strive for better futures for ourselves and our families.”

Producer, Katelyn Neal, added, “You’re not alone. Not just for Latinx women, but any first-generation woman or student. You’re really important and you’re not alone.”

A Haunted House

In a clever mix of horror and comedy, A Haunted House follows a documentary film student chronicling the ghost-hunting antics of two friends and their social-media-obsessed buddy. Set in a small, seemingly haunted rural house, the film’s cinematography blends classic horror shots with found-footage style, bringing both humor and suspense to life. The teens balance laughter and genuine scares, making this short film a standout.

Director of Photography, Robbie Altman, recalled the crew’s experiences on location: “It felt like an awesome sleepover/slumber party. It was so awesome. And we got to be in a haunted house, which is cool.”

When asked about filming challenges, Director, Oliver Day explained, “The house was actually haunted, and kind of small and enclosed. So, it was a little hard to get wide angles and wide shots. In the kitchen you’d have like seven people on the floor behind the counter laying down. It was definitely a difficult thing. But honestly, I think it makes it better.”

OZYMANDIAS

Ozymandias is a hybrid documentary about the climate crisis, capitalism, and the possibility of societal rebirth. Divided into three acts, it confronts viewers with the urgency of environmental action. The film mixes b-roll footage, expert interviews, and evocative fictional scenes, cut between footage following an apocalyptic figure, immersing the audience in both the looming danger and the possibility of change.

When asked about the main takeaway from the film, Director of Photography, Riley Hastings, shared the overarching message they hope the film hits home on: “Hey, things can be better. Here’s how awful things are. Things can be better. But this isn’t something we can just wait around, and wait for things to get better. Like, this is a call to action. This isn’t like ‘the future is going to be good, don’t worry about it.’ It’s putting responsibility on the viewer. This can be a good way to organize our society, but we have to all make a collective effort.”

Reflecting on the creative process, Director, Madeline Aulbach and Producer, Matthias Bell, shared appreciation for their Production Designer, Theo Clement. “Theo is the most amazing editor in the entire world. They are so fast. They collect clips so quickly. I don’t think a lot of this would have been possible without Theo specifically.”

Early Mourning

Early Mourning follows the story of a young Polynesian boy grieving the loss of his brother and teammate. The film beautifully explores family, friendship, and the often-untouched grief following loss. With retro-inspired cinematography, the filmmakers pull us into the character’s world, capturing the warmth of family and the pain of separation as he confronts his feelings and finds healing.

When asked what they wanted the audience to take away from this film, Director, Olivia Solomone-Halaeua, responded “Represenation: that you can see someone on screen that looks like you. And also these subjects we talked about… You’re not alone. It’s important to acknowledge these experiences and tell these authentic stories.”

She goes on to emphasize the importance of open conversation in their community, “I think that’s a big way to cope with grief: is talking about it, having a conversation…because mental health and these kinds of subjects are taboo in Polynesian culture.”

Each of these films is more than just a story; they’re reflections of the young creators behind the lens. Through the PitchNic program, these filmmakers honed not only their technical skills but also their voices, perspectives, and teamwork. At Spy Hop, we are honored to support these young storytellers and to share their hard work and creativity with the community.

Did you know?
These four films will be held in our archive for the next year, as students submit these films to festivals across the world! They will be publicly released for on-demand streaming in the fall of 2025.