For the first time in school history, a group of seven Mount Pleasant High School seniors entered the UIL Film competition and two of their works have advanced to the semifinals. The films titled Dawn of the Night and Dawn of the Night Chapter Two are among twenty semifinal entries in the 5A Narrative Film category. The Dawn of the Night competitors include MPHS seniors Samuel Chappell, Judson Colley, David Cumpian, Tanner Marshall, Jesus Moreno, Frankie Rodriguez, and Christopher Sorto with advisor, Gina Crouch. The films featured “extras” Evan Cota, Eli Hernandez, Amir Martinez, Alejandro Nino, Cristian Perez Fernando, and Luke Thurman.

Dawn of the Night Chapter One-The Duel at Dawn is a spaghetti western style story filmed, in part, at Two Senoritas in Mount Pleasant. It was written and directed by Samuel Chappell with the story by Chappell and Frankie Rodriguez. Dawn of the Night Chapter Two-The Murder Under the Moon, written and directed by Chappell and Rodriguez, is a continuation of the story filmed largely around the square in Mount Pleasant and back at Two Senoritas.

The UIL Film competition began in 2014. Films can be entered in the Digital Animation, Traditional Animation, Documentary, or Narrative categories. The twenty semifinalists will be narrowed to a group of six finalists whose works will be screened at the 5A and 6A UIL State Film Festival on February 27 at Hogg Auditorium on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.

Photo:

MPHS UIL Film semifinalists (L to R) Jesus Moreno, Tanner Marshall, Samuel Chappell, Frankie Rodriguez, Judson Colley, Christopher Sorto, David Cumpian, and Advisor, Gina Crouch