When senior Kennedy Doubler first watched Schindler’s List in her AP World History class last year, it made a profound impression on her—she realized that, like Steven Spielberg, she could impact an audience through a movie.
“I just realized how impactful movies can be,” Kennedy said. “It even goes down to how you color your movies, since [Schindler’s List] is in black and white. That was really something that made me realize that if I do go into film, I can impact people in a lot of different ways. It doesn’t just have to be the plot or subject of my movie.”
Kennedy’s interest in film began in middle school through a passion for photography. Although she initially planned to pursue a career in photography in college and beyond, touring the Forest Exposure (FX) lab on her Connect Day changed her perspective.
“Throughout middle school, I’d done stuff with photography,” Kennedy said, “And then, I was looking at the classes offered in high school, and I saw FX was one of those things. I got to go into the studio [on Connect Day], and that’s when I was like, ‘This is basically just photography but bigger and better.’ That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is something I’m interested in doing.’ Then, I was really scared to actually do it, so I didn’t initially [join], but once I started [being in FX] last year, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is definitely something that I want to do for the rest of my life.’”
Although Kennedy still enjoys photography as a casual hobby, it no longer holds as much significance for her, because while taking photos only requires a practiced hand, film requires a certain complexity that is more engaging.
“I like the complexity of [film],” Kennedy said. “Because anybody can go out and take photos, but getting to learn more about film and presenting your idea [is different]. You get to say, ‘Here’s my idea. Here’s a storyboard of what I want this film to be.’ I really like that. I like the idea of having an idea and then getting to watch it all come to life. Photography is just too simple.”
Over the past year in FX, the element of complexity has evolved Kennedy’s interest in film into a deep enthusiasm. Looking forward, she hopes to major in film studies in college and hopefully work in a cosmopolitan setting later in life (i.e., New York City, New York, or Los Angeles, California). In these cities, collaboration with people of multitudes is an omnipresent possibility—a feature that excites Kennedy.
“[My favorite part of FX] is getting to collaborate with a lot of different people,” Kennedy said. “No matter who I’m working with, we’re able to come together and make a good story or a good movie. And it’s just really fun to get to sit with people that might not have been my friends when I first started in that class and work together to create something fun and interesting.”
While FX students work on a news broadcast that is shown twice a day in school for most of the year, their major project comes in May—Film Fest.
With the format of an actual film festival, student films are shown in three separate rooms throughout the school, with three films playing at the same time. As its principal purpose is to let FX students showcase their creativity, it’s one of Kennedy’s favorite events of the year.
“We just started talking about our movies [in class],” Kennedy said. “It’s a stressful time. It’s fun, it’s annoying, but it’s really just a time where we get to be creative and collaborate with one another, bring ideas from every genre you can think of, and ultimately decide on one film idea and go out and make it. It might be terrible, but it’s still fun to go out and film what your idea was and see how it turns out.”
Film Fest allows Kennedy to discover what directing a movie would look like in the future, establishing her desire to become a director/screenwriter for feature films.
“In FX, we do news, and I don’t really enjoy it,” Kennedy said. “I don’t like the whole ‘You do a show for five minutes and then we’re done,’ and you get stressed out for five minutes. But the idea of getting to make a film, [when] you get to have an idea that could be from anything, [is exciting]. It could be from your own experiences or just something that you saw online, and you make a new, original film about that. So, I think directing and movie making is what I want to go into, but I’m leaving my options open because I do like filming sports and all the highlights [on FX], but I don’t know if I like it as much as making a movie.”
As for her current idea for this year’s Film Fest, Kennedy plans to recreate Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, while still incorporating elements of originality. Since her film last year—based on an original idea—wasn’t the best, Kennedy hopes a spin-off will be more successful.
“Last year, [my group and I] tried to make an original idea, and it did not turn out well,” Kennedy said. “Meanwhile, other people made spin-offs of different movies that have already been made, but they turned out a lot better. So, right now, my only idea for Film Fest is to do something that’s based off of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off because it’s [my] senior year, and it’s fun. It’s not something that people have done a lot—it’s not a mafia movie, which seems to be what everybody goes towards. [Ferris Bueller’s Day Off] is still interesting, and we can change it so that it’s our own and not entirely just, ‘Here’s the plot of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but made by high school students.”
As Kennedy’s appreciation for film has grown, so has her personal connection with her sister. Her sister, Kylie, is studying at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, which is a nearly five-hour drive from Grand Rapids. To keep their bond strong, Kennedy and Kylie have formed a new tradition.
“Every day or every weekend, at least, my sister and I watch a movie together over FaceTime because she’s in college,” Kennedy said. “The connection with film that I have is really nice, and it’s sincere and sweet to be able to share those moments with my sister through film.”
Film has defined Kennedy’s high school experience, and she hopes it will continue to encourage her creativity and create priceless memories for her in the future. Looking back, she’s glad that she took the risk to join FX, and she motivates others to do the same, for any passion.
“Sometimes all it takes to realize what you want to do in life is to face your fears and take a leap of faith,” Kennedy said. “The reason I got into film was because I was brave enough to go try it. [In the future,] I’d be happy getting to do film, because it’s something I love.”
