Fantastic Flicks

Anderson High School film department wins regional Emmy for fall film Behind Closed Doors

And the Emmy goes to… Anderson High School! 

Over the summer, the Anderson High School Film Department was awarded a regional Emmy in the Ohio Valley Chapter for its work on the fall film "Behind Closed Doors," along with nominations from other student-led projects.

This is Anderson’s second win for a fall film. In the 2022-2023 season, the department was awarded an Emmy for a fiction film, The Whisper House. 

One of the unique aspects of the film program is the student-led, hands-on experience. 

“Filmmaking right now is kids doing it without much adult interaction,” Mr. Weddle, AHS film and theatre director, said. 

Behind Closed Doors was fully directed and written by students Ben Hartong and Mary Harping, as well as their passion projects, which were also Emmy-nominated. 

“The film program is very unique and rare,” Rowan Hurtubise (12), a student involved in an Emmy-nominated project, The Ranger, said. 

 Anderson is one of the few in the area who has a developed film program in addition to theatre. 

The Anderson Film program gives students the opportunity to be creative and express themselves at the high school level, and gives students free rein to make projects. 

Not only was Anderson awarded an Emmy this season, but they were also nominated for other awards, including awards won at the OINK film festival, such as best music video, best sports/ informational video, best screenplay, and mentor award. 

“It's so real and tangible,” Hurtbise (12) said.

 The film program opens up many realistic opportunities for students to thrive and watch their own creativity grow. 

“Every single year is, well, ‘What can we do better? What can we do differently? What is working? What isn’t working?” Weddle said. 

As the program continues to evolve, the projects become more ambitious, winning them nominations for back-to-back years. 

After winning the regional Emmy, Behind Closed Doors has ambitions of being nominated for the national Emmy. The Film Department will receive news of the nomination later this fall.