We want the audience to take away the Christmas Spirit, giving. As the audience watching Murray go through his trials and tribulations they can see him persevere with the Christmas spirit at heart. Everyone should always remember that we are not what others do for us but what we do for others.

We had an absolute blast filming all of Murray but if we were to choose a scene I’d probably choose the scene with angry guy (Cruz Ha). I loved being able to watch Cruz get into the character and him and his character are not similar. It was so funny and everyone behind the cameras couldn’t stop laughing.

Opportunity’s like Film Prize Junior are important for students like me because it teaches you so many valuable skills. You are able to learn and take away the skills and put them towards life. Skills like communication, organization, and handling setbacks are things I’ve learned along the way.

Some obstacles that challenged myself and my crew the most were the weather and editing. The time that we filmed Murray it was normally cold and snowy but I don’t think I’ll never forget the good laughs that I shared with my cast and crew after those cold days over hot cocoa. All of the editing went smoothly except for our credits. Yet it was a learning opportunity for both myself and one of my lead editors (Jonathan Korte).

Some advice that I can give to future participants is to make a well thought out, planned, and organized schedule. This is crucial for a smooth filming and editing process and it makes life so much easier. Yet it’s even more crucial to remember that setbacks and speed bumps are a normal part of life and that they don’t define us they teach us. It’s how we handle setbacks that defines us.