Congratulations to the media students at Kaiser High School!

Two teams of students from the school’s Media Communications Learning Center were selected to compete in the All American High School Film Festival (AAHSFF) in New York City.

One team’s film, “The Last Check,” won in the category for Best Film Invitational 3 Day Shoot and Edit. It beat more than 30 other school entries.

The group filmed in iconic locations such as Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Grand Central NY Public Library and Bryant Park, and worked with a professional actor and actress in the city.

The students who took part were Julia Bresnan, Lucy Chalekian, Makana Richter, Tyler Bender, Gearld Canaday IV, Hunter Dias, Albert Insisiengmay, Noah Matsumoto, Landon Shigeta and Riley-Jade Yee.

“The approach we took to capture the sound and achieve the correct lighting was a process we had to learn on the go,” said Shigeta . “This was the first time in New York for all of us, and we need to find new practices and techniques to work in a busy city.”

The other team — which consisted of Micah Mew, Rosario Joaquin, Anna Garcia and Dalya Yoo — created the short film “Summer Solitude.”

Kaiser is the first high school from Hawaii to compete and win an award at the festival.

“The Kaiser Cougar team effort went well beyond the travelers. There was a commitment by their parents, faculty, schoolmates, community, the department and donors to support our participation,” said principal Justin Mew.You can watch “The Last Check” in its entirety online here.