Credit: Melina Antun

Jim Mullane’s Script-to-Screen class brought back WayCAM-produced classics as part of Winter Week festivities, highlighting former WHS alumni.

On Tuesday, Jan. 28, Wayland High School students gathered in the theater during fifth and sixth block to watch films made by WHS alumni as a part of the annual Winter Week celebration. Although the viewing time was cut short due to the weather-related two hour delay, students watched various films from the Script-to-Screen ranging in genre from sci-fi horror to coming-of-age.

Student Council runs Winter Week, which gives students a chance to de-stress and relax after midterms. Throughout the week, students can step out of their usual classes for activities and viewings, including Script-to-Screen.

“I really like Winter Week, this is my first day and [it’s] been super fun,” freshman Sloane DeRoberto said. “I’m so excited to see what the week brings.”

Script-to-Screen is a WHS course that brings students’ film ideas to life using the school’s advanced film studio, encouraging students to use their creativity to create movies. During the viewing, teacher Jim Mullane paused the viewing to briefly speak with the audience members and encourage students to take the class, regardless of their background in film or theater.

During the first block of the event, the 2023 Bronze Telly Award-winning film “Curse of The Minds of The Students of The Morrigan From Hell” was shown, though it was cut short by the bell due to shortened classes. The short film follows three students who investigate a classmate’s mysterious disappearance and instead find themselves in a demonic version of an apocalypse. The film was written and directed by Wayland alum Brendan Hines.

“I liked the movie because the plot was interesting, and I liked how they used the dog to make the [Morrigan] because it looked cool,” sophomore Reed Varney said.

One of the films shown, “Broken Reality,” was a sci-fi horror movie that used various effects and animations to create otherworldly graphics.

The screening ended with a short, feel-good film about a student who joins an after-school program to bring his grades up. The soundtrack matched the action on screen, shifting to brighter music during the closing montage as the story resolved and friendships were built.

“[The viewing] was during one of my frees and I’m so glad I went because it was so ahead of its time,” junior Sazie Wrentmore said. “The [graphics] were really advanced, I thought, for high school students.”