Local students' films selected for international film festival

A former Havre High School student and current Havre High student have had their films selected for entry in the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest - known as FLIC - which is set for Jan. 25-27.

Christian Sorensen and Natalie Verploegen's films made it past a four-panel jury to be selected for showing at FLIC. Both Sorensen and Verploegen have been a part of Vicki Proctor's media productions class.

"I get so proud of them," Proctor said. "Because they do it. I just open the door and they do it. So I get really proud of them because they're taking everything they've learned and pulling it together."

Verploegen said she cried when she found out that her film was selected for FLIC. Proctor printed out the email and placed it on Verploegen's desk and "walked away smiling until I finished reading it."

Sorensen said he also found out from Proctor and he was excited to have been selected.

Verploegen's film, "Recycle, Rather Than Throw Away," is a documentary on the recycling process. She examines how different materials are broken down, as well. The film took her about a month to finish filming with the hardest part being the editing process.

"Pulling it all together because it was originally 30 minutes and I cut it down to eight," she added. "So just pulling it all to the main points."

She got the idea after she had taken a trip to visit the 24-hour recycle bins at Pacific Steel and Recycling.

Verploegen has done documentaries before. Her previous work, "Texters Walking," focused on people on their phones and the modern, connected society.

Her favorite part of the documentaries she's filmed has been filming the B-roll, the extra film footage. She added that her interest doesn't just lie in documentaries, but that she got inspired to film them because she had many questions that she wanted to research to find the answers.

She said she wants to be involved in all aspects of film making such as writing, directing and even costume design. Verploegen said she is looking into attending college next year at the University of Montana in Missoula. She hopes to be involved with television dramas some day.

Proctor said she has noticed more confidence in Verploegen when it comes to her films.

"I think I sat with her a lot, and a couple of times we had digital tears because she was frustrated that she couldn't get it the way she wanted to," she added. "I don't do that any longer. I don't hand-hold her anymore."

Sorensen's film, "Virtually Home," is about a person whose life revolves around technology. When the power goes out, the person thinks that it's the end of the world and is unable to cope with being disconnected from the internet.

Sorensen said the film is a reflection of modern society's reliance on technology and what could happen if people become too dependent on it. He added that the film was originally entered in Triangle Communications' Best in the West film contest.

"So I kind of based the film around that and took it a little in the opposite direction," he said. "Saying that, you know, we don't necessarily need it. It is a very nice thing to have and a lot of people do rely on it a little too much."

The film took three hours to shoot and was shot at Sorensen's parents' house. He added that the editing process only took two hours.

"Most of it was, at that point, was just going down to the details. Getting the right music and making sure everything fit properly was the biggest issue," Sorensen said.

Sorensen said the concept for the film has been something that he had thought about for years.

"With how fast technology is advancing, you see day to day how much people will spend even just on social media. Hours upon hours just scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, watching YouTube videos, things like that," he added. "I'm like, 'Well, what happened to just going outside with friends and just spending time together, having a good time and not needing that extra device in your pocket to provide you with entertainment?'"

The film is Sorensen's second film to be entered in to the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest. Sorensen said he made the film specifically for Triangle's film contest, but it won there and also won at Havre High School's film contest.

"I thought it was just going to be one of those things, like I said, just throw it together, enter it in a contest, see what happens. I didn't think it would go this far," he added.

Sorensen said he hopes to one day direct a feature-length film and that he is working on another documentary, this time about the struggles of independent filmmakers.