Skala Leake, a junior in Ballard High School’s
Digital Filmmaking Program, has been awarded an Honorable Mention in Cinematic Arts by the National YoungArts Foundation for her short film Comeback. The award was given in recognition of the
“exceptional artistic achievement” evident in her work. Honorable
Mention is the second tier of honors awarded by YoungArts, above the Merit
Award and second only to their top prize.
YoungArts identifies and supports
young talent in the areas of music, theater, visual arts, photography, writing,
and cinematic arts. Skala’s work was
selected for honors from thousands of submissions through a blind adjudication
process by a nationally and internationally renowned panel of judges, master
teachers, and artists. She pitched Comeback
to her filmmaking class last winter. It
was selected for production, and she worked with classmates Avery Davis,
Cameron Miller, and Aaron Miller to realize her story of a promising soccer
player facing a life-altering setback.
Since premiering at the Ballard Film Festival last June, Comeback
had its national premiere at the All American High School Film Festival in New
York City in early October, and was screened at the Portland Art Museum on
November 12 as a winner in Fresh Film Northwest – a festival that receives
competition from 5 Northwest states as well as the province of British
Columbia. Comeback can now be seen
online at www.vimeo.com/bhsfilmprogram. After
high school, Skala plans to study media arts in college.
The award comes with a college recommendation
from YoungArts, as well as an invitation for Skala to participate in the
YoungArts regional programs. Previous
YoungArts winners in the Digital Filmmaking Program have gone on to top-ranked
college programs for film and television and successful careers in the film
industry.
