In 2023, Whistler Secondary School (WSS) student Crystal Brooks watched her older brother Sho co-found the Sea to Sky Student Film Festival (S2SFF).
Joined by his friends Jayden Inniss and Kenta Tanaka, Sho teamed up with Whistler Film Festival (WFF) founder Shauna Hardy and WSS vice-principal John Hall to build a successful debut. How successful? They raised more than $5,000 for their own graduating class.
Another student, Soren Weetman, took point on last year's festival. Now Crystal has adopted the role of Grade 12 producer as the S2SFF returns for a third iteration.
"I wanted to do the film festival to carry on my brother's legacy," says Crystal. "Sho and I are really close as siblings, which I'm really lucky to be able to say because I know a lot of siblings aren't. I have always been following in his footsteps, it felt like, so this is an opportunity for me to take something he started and do my best to make it better. Maybe next year, someone else can take over and make it even better.
"It feels like one of the last opportunities for me to connect with Sho through something other than just each other."
The event again invites teens in Whistler, Squamish, Mount Currie and Pemberton to craft a three-to-five minute film in virtually any format: live-action, stop-motion, animation, documentary and so on. Footage must have been shot in 2025.
New for this year, contestants are required to use licensed or royalty-free music.
Movies must be submitted by April 4, and professional filmmakers will judge the entries. Ten finalists will have their work premiere on April 15 at WSS.
'I want to be the reason someone else might realize this is one of their passions'
Crystal helped Sho make his own S2SFF project two years ago, gaining valuable insight regarding his approach. Therefore she feels equipped to helm the ship: planning meetings, organizing logistics and coordinating with various stakeholders.
Of course, this is no one-woman show. A group of students including Megumi Takaishi, Diamond Richardson and two-time festival winner Isa Guerrero help Crystal get things done while Hardy serves as mentor and the event's parent lead.
"I honestly could not do this without her. She has been life-changing," admits Crystal. "Our families are very close because Sho and Shauna's son Callum played hockey together their whole childhood. Shauna and I have been close since I can remember, but this lets me see her professional side and how she executed the Whistler Film Festival every year flawlessly [in the past], it seems.
"Seeing how difficult planning something like this is and getting her insight on it changes everything. If I didn't have [Shauna] and if Sho didn't have her, the festival [wouldn't be nearly as good]."
Crystal also recognized Hall for providing administrative support and contacting other schools on her behalf, saying: "Even outside of the Student Film Festival, he's been with WSS since I started and you can tell he really brightens everyone's day. He does give really good insight on what should be in letters and announcements and all that."
Handling the S2SFF gives Crystal something to do for her senior year capstone project, which is governed by the British Columbia Ministry of Education. Having said that, she doesn't envision herself going too far down the filmmaking rabbit hole.
"If I'm honest, I'm not a very creative person," Crystal remarks. "I have a lot of ideas running through my head, but I've never been able to apply that into my real life. Sho is definitely way more creative than I am … but I'm the kind of person who loves to be able to give other people the opportunity to express their creativity.
"Even though I won't personally be using filmmaking in my life, I want to be the reason someone else might realize this is one of their passions and possibly pursue that in the future."
According to Crystal, Sea to Sky schools and communities have been engaging robustly with the event. Her lofty aim is for the 2025 S2SFF to be grander in scale than the first two combined.
Visit filmfreeway.com/SeatoSkyStudentFilmFestival for more details.
