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Fresh film talent, exposed (VIDEO)
Matt Nachtrieb/Staff Photo. John Gordon (right) receives editing help from R.L. Turner teacher Jason Wheeler. Gordon’s 5-minute movie will be featured in a film contest at the “South by Southwest” film festival in Austin. Gordon is the only student in the district to be selected. He is one of 15 high school students in the state chosen. This photo is available at www.scntx.com.
By SARAH BLASKOVICH, Community Editor
Watch VideoWhen John Gordon has a video camera in his hand, it replaces his “terrible memory,” he said. His world, captured on digital film, is easier to remember if he can replay it again and again.
But this R.L. Turner sophomore won’t forget his latest film achievement — a spot on Austin’s South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival lineup in March. John’s film, “To the Ends of the Earth” will be featured with 14 other Texas high school films, each 5-minute “shorts.”
He beat out more than 100 high school films to be chosen for the festival, and John’s video production teacher Jason Wheeler calls him a “silent superstar.” The quiet and soft spoken student isn’t the center of attention, Wheeler said. But he’s one of his best.
John’s film tells the story of a curious child — his 12-year-old brother Taylor, who is the main character. John’s calm voice narrates the film as the boy wanders through DFW Airport, the child’s face buried behind a video camera. When he gets lost from his father, the dad’s frantic search is illustrated through short, staggered Dallas sights: The DART rail. Blue airport signs. Lurking, tall buildings downtown.
“If someone we knew was lost, what would you do?” the narrator asks. The father says he would go “to the ends of the earth.”
The film was an unusual departure from most other high school short films, said Lya Guerra, who works for the SXSW film festival. She remembered John’s film even after watching hundreds for the upcoming festival.
“There’s a lot of raw talent,” Guerra said. “A lot of the films from high school were comedy-oriented. His is one of the few that actually deals with a serious narrative.”
The movie was actually based on John’s brother, who he described as a mischievous child who is always getting lost. The movie emulates the sheer panic John has felt personally when his brother went missing momentarily, he said.
Ironically, John said he isn’t much of a movie buff. He likes “Jurassic Park” and “Finding Nemo,” but couldn’t name a movie he’d seen recently.
His movies almost always involve immediate family members or cousins — some who faithfully sit through John’s tedious work, and others who get tired after 30 minutes. His mom, the principal at McWhorter Elementary, stood at a Dallas DART station in the cold rain for two hours while John filmed the trains, she remembered. Benita Gordon sighed; only 10 seconds made it into the final version of “To the Ends of the Earth.”
Benita also starred in one of his a recent horror films, in which one scene ended with a visit from the cops. Benita was emulating a car crash in the woods, as she sat next to a screaming neighbor girl and a tarantula. The neighbors got worried, she said.
“It was hard to explain to the police what we were doing after dark, pretending to hit a tree near someone’s backyard,” Benita said, laughing.
For now, John’s flair for film is a hobby. In fact, the film that qualified him for the Austin festival was an assignment for students enrolled in the junior-level film class at R.L. Turner. An ambitious John did it for fun, on his own time.
“It wasn’t even for a grade,” Wheeler said. “John just loves film.”
But his mom says film will transition from a hobby to a career when John goes to college.
“I’ve always told the boys, find out what you love and make a living at it,” she said.
“To the Ends of the Earth” will be shown in Austin on Thursday and again on March 15. An awards ceremony on Tuesday will name the winning high school film.
But, John won’t be present to see his first-ever film premiere — he’ll be at the state theater tournament performing a dramatic interpretation.
“It’s OK,” he said of missing the debut. “I’ve already seen it a bunch of times.”
Contact Community Editor Sarah Blaskovich at 972-628-4074 or SBlaskovich@acnpapers.com.
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