WHSAD Junior reporter, Miguel Hernandez, wrote this story.
On Tuesday, September 30th, Shine Global presented honorees with plaques that were designed by our very own students at WHSAD. The plaques honored those who have created films that affected many people’s lives. Shine Global, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to creating films raising awareness to injustice around the world. As per its website, “Shine Global’s mission is to improve the lives of children by telling powerful stories that raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change.” In addition to the plaques, Shine Global presented cash prizes to award winners.
Some of the people and films receiving plaques are as follows:
Jesse Draper- Jesse is a venture capitalist who raised 30 Million Dollars to support families in things like childcare, educational technology, youth services and household well being. She owns many big brand companies which are dedicated to helping families as well. Francine Mullen, Co-CEO and Executive Director states “Her work at the intersection of impact investment and social change mirrors our own mission in impact filmmaking to improve the lives of children and families around the world” She gets the shining Example Award. You can find out more about her and any of the films through their website: https://shineglobal.org/
Speak (Documentary)- Speak is a documentary about teenagers who participate in public speaking. They want to win the NSDA nationals, which is a big public speaking event. The film is centered about children trying to use their voices to talk about a cause they are passionate about. It goes through the kids’ days leading up to the event and problems that arise.This film will receive the grand prize of the 2025 Resilience Awards. Part of this prize will include $25,000 and the impact marketing services stated earlier. These are just one of the many films that are made to raise awareness for problems around the world and things that go by unnoticed in everyday life.
On Monday, September 29th, students stayed after school to watch one of these films. We watched a film called Inocente. The film was about a 15-year-old girl named Inocente. She was in California and was homeless for most of her life. She was also an artist and loved making art whenever possible. Going into the film, I at first thought it was going to be an average movie about someone who doesn’t want to give up. Boy, was I wrong. The film really came through with its emotions, and some of the topics were very mature. It sheds a light on what the lives of others less fortunate may have and how difficult they can be. Inocente explains how life was being homeless. She explains the difficulties that start from when you wake up to being made fun of at school to coming home to a place you can’t call home. She explained how it was, going from one shelter to the next, how her mother didn’t understand her passion for art. How her father was an abusive person and one day went too far and Inocente’s mother, and 3 children ran away. Inocente would work on making art every day, as it was her way of relaxing and disconnecting from everything in the real world. She would participate in art groups meant for homeless kids, and one day, she would get her own art show. During this time, Inocente would get distant with her mother and move to a different shelter from her. She thought it was for the better and her mother accepted it. Inocente has regrets with her mother she wished her mother knew, and her mother also had sad feelings she wished she could tell her daughter and apologize for many mistakes she thinks she’s made. The film explores many themes, such as family, hardships and dedication. If you could, this is definitely worth a watch. This is just one story of many out there, who face similar problems like Inocente, who could use a change for the better.
After watching the film, we had Inocente herself come in and answer some questions the audience had. She happily answered many of them and they are included here:
Q. Does she still do art?
- Yes. Inocente still does art to this day, and uses her own home as a studio. Art still gives her a sense of relief from everything else and she had an art show a few years ago
Q. Is her art related to her culture?
- Inocente thinks that even though she doesn’t know much about her culture, she feels there has to be some relationship between them. She has hopes to go to Mexico and learn more about her culture and connect with her past.
Q. How did she feel about the film after watching it?
- She felt many emotions, watching parts that she wasn’t aware of that were made by her mother. Things her mother said that she wasn’t aware if that were very hard to watch for her
Q. Is she still in contact with her family?
- Yes! She still talks to her mother, and moves back to living with them for some periods of time. She talks to her sibling as well, and has a younger sibling who is still young. She loves spending time with them and brings her peace and healing from her past events.