Entrada High students win high-school documentary at CSD TV festival after $6,000 grant

Students from Entrada High School in the Canyon School District won the high-school documentary category at this year’s CSD TV film festival after receiving a $6,000 grant from the Canyons Education Foundation to buy camera equipment, Entrada teacher Bailey Riley said on the district podcast Connect Canyons.

The grant paid for three camera setups so student teams could shoot a documentary focused on the stories of adult-education students at Entrada, Riley said. The film met the festival’s five-minute limit and beat other entries in the high-school documentary category, students and Riley said on the podcast.

Riley described the grant process on the episode. “So I applied for full grant of $6,000 so we could receive 3 camera setups,” she said, explaining she waited about a month for the foundation to decide. Riley said members of the Board of Education and the Canyons Education Foundation surprised her class by presenting “a check, a big, big check of $6,000, our full grant” in the classroom.

Students said the equipment and class structure shaped the project. Student E. C. Lau said of the final film, “I honestly came, came out way better than I thought it would.” The documentary team focused on classmates’ life stories and obstacles that led them to Entrada, with students selecting which interviews fit the five-minute runtime.

Students described production trade-offs: with many potential interview subjects, the class had to choose which stories to include. The team used the new camera rigs and basic lighting and sound techniques; teacher Riley said she and a colleague named Mark helped make the equipment and logistics available.

At the festival, the Entrada group attended with classmates and supporters. Student Michelle Nolasco recalled her reaction to learning they had won: “I actually just found out today that we went. I didn't know that.” Students also described supporting other entrants during the awards ceremony and celebrating together.

On the podcast, students encouraged peers to enter future festivals. Jackson Stevens urged others to take opportunities in student media: “Just do it,” he said, adding that students don’t know what they might gain from participating.

The district podcast said winning films will be posted at csdtv.org under the film-festival section. The episode and school representatives described the project as a hands-on class experience funded by the Canyons Education Foundation and organized as part of the district’s CSD TV film festival.