Cy Ranch student's film earns international recognition

Cypress Ranch High School junior Jeremiah James' short film, Send Me To Babylon, won a bronze medal in the 44th annual WorldFest – Houston International Film and Video Festival.

James' film was shown on the final day of WorldFest, April 17, at AMC Studio 30, 2949 Dunvale Road. It was featured in "The Texas Show," along with eight other Texas-borne productions.

"Send Me To Babylon," a take on the modern zombie thriller, was one of only 100 short films to be granted entry into the contest among more than 3,500 entries. James was announced as a bronze medal winner during an awards dinner and ceremony on Saturday night.

"I was surprised, really. I didn't expect to win anything," James said. "This was a video we made for one specific theater competition. My mom encouraged me to enter it into some contests, and it just blew up from there."

Send Me To Babylon isn't done exploding just yet. On Tuesday, James found out that his film was accepted in the Cannes Film Festival short film gallery.

"I was almost dumbfounded just sitting there looking at the computer screen," James said, describing his reaction to the news. "It's such an incredible honor, and I didn't really have any words to describe it."

According to James, he is unsure whether he will be able to attend the 64th edition of one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals, set for May 11-22 in Cannes, France.

Upon graduating in 2012, James said he plans to study film at the University of Texas and attend graduate school in California with the hopes of pursuing a directing career.

Students win writing awards in contest

Four Cypress Woods High School students won awards in the Write-Off Contest of the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association Spring National High School Journalism Convention, April 14-17 in Anaheim, Calif.

Cypress Woods students won awards in the following categories:

senior Raymond Clark won an Excellent award in Commentary Writing;

junior Dallas Dawson won an Excellent in Advertising;

sophomore Kayleigh McKenzie won an Excellent in Photo Story; and

senior Abbie Adams won an Honorable Mention in News Magazine Layout.

"I am very proud of these students and the class with which they represented our school on this trip," said Abby Paysse, Cypress Woods newspaper and yearbook adviser.

Sophomore wins Law Day essay contest

Cypress Lakes High School sophomore Victor Lam was named the winner in the Houston Bar Association Law Day Essay Contest and placed third at the state level.

Law Day was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to expand the awareness of U.S. laws and the justice system and their impact on Americans' lives. The HBA sponsors this contest annually. This year, the writing prompt was "The Legacy of John Adams from Boston to Guantanamo," and the essays were to focus on lawyers promoting justice even when defending unpopular clients.

Lam and his teacher, English II team leader Marsha Molden, will each receive $500 and were invited to the April 27 HBA luncheon. For placing third at state, Lam will receive an additional $250.

"I had fun writing the essay because ideas kept flowing into my head," Lam said. "After a while, pictures came into my head, and I just translated it into words."

Cypress Lakes sophomore Emily Tang placed second in the HBA essay contest, and will receive $200.