Zaiden Lopez
MAE News:
ESPAÑOLA — Zaiden Lopez, a McCurdy Charter School 6th grade student, is now an award-winning filmmaker for his film “Blue Heron”. Sunday, April 7, 2024, Zaiden received the Best Middle School Drama award at the Film Prize Junior New Mexico competition. Zaiden’s film was one of 167 films from 80 schools throughout New Mexico.
The award ceremony was held at Albuquerque’s New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center. With a full weekend of events, students could watch other films that were entered and take their moment on the red carpet.
Zaiden created a storyboard and concept for his drama filmed in Española. He enlisted family and friends to act in his film. Throughout the process, Zaiden learned multiple aspects of filmmaking, including storyboarding, writing lines, operating a camera, and editing using Adobe Premier. Zaiden said, “I learned that filmmaking is hard, but if you persevere and do as much as possible, you can make something beautiful. I now have a deeper appreciation for film and stay to watch the credits roll.”
Through the Film Prize Junior New Mexico program, students work with educators, team members, and film mentors to produce and edit their films. Zaiden worked with McCurdy Charter School Art Teacher Ana Neighbor, his father, artist Cruz Lopez, filmmaker Erikah Guyen, and Stephanie Martinez, an instructor at Moving Arts Española.
Ana Neighbor first learned about Film Prize Junior in the 2022-2023 school year, and as the school was in search of a sponsor, she gladly volunteered. From McCurdy Charter School, four films were created by 5th— and 6th-grade students. The films were “Anti-Bullying” by Annalia Martinez and Nathaniel Montoya, “Always Watching” by Amalia Berryhill, “Beware” by Zayden Martinez, and “Blue Heron” by Zaiden Lopez.
“Beware” also won a People’s Choice Award for Middle School.
The editing process took place at Moving Arts. Neighbor said, “Without the equipment there, we couldn’t have participated. I’m so thankful to Roger and Salvador for creating Moving Arts in our community. It was an awesome experience to see how my students swelled with pride with their accomplishments.”
Zaiden Lopez is already paying it forward. He and his classmates made a short film about bullying, which they showed to the kindergarten classes at McCurdy Charter School. Neighbor said, “These kids have been empowered with the knowledge and experience of making films. How cool is that?”
Zaiden Lopez, right, and Zayden Martinez, students from McCurdy Charter School with their awards from the recent Film Prize Junior New Mexico competition. Courtesy/MAE
