By Dawn Ortiz and Brittany Los
Carly Lurier, a senior at Westborough High School, attended the New York Film Academy this past summer. In this four-week film-intensive program, Lurier spent her time in the extraordinary city of Manhattan while staying at the Pace University campus. She was first introduced to the academy through an acting program she partook in two summers ago.
In the time she spent in the academy, Lurier learned how to work a camera, direct a film, how to edit with professional software, and how to write a screenplay. With these lessons she was able to produce, direct, and edit three films. Her first film was called “Third Time’s a Charm” which was about a girl who stole a pair of glasses. In this short film she played the main role of the “girl who steals glasses off another person’s face”.
In her second film called “ This Is War”, Lurier filmed two people playing a card game called “War” for a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. Her last film was called, “ Journey to Saying No”. It was a touching story about a girl who wants to go to New York City but can’t afford it, so she does another boy’s work for money to pay for her college tuition. These three films were some of her proudest achievements amongst many others.
While at the Academy, Lurier also enjoyed meeting new people from different background and cultures. Many people came from around the world such as Spain, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Finland, and many other places to learn about the film industry and what goes into making a film.
Lurier learned the differences and similarities Americans share with other countries such as school schedules and daily routines. For example, she learned from her friend who lives in Spain that their school schedule is much different from that of American students: her day starts out at around 9:30 am, she gets out of school at 3:30 pm, and then enjoys a relaxed lifestyle full of beach days. Lurier explained that film camp wasn’t just about film, “it was also about meeting new people and exploring the wonderful city of New York”. Even though she had fun in the city, Lurier expressed that she wouldn’t want to live in the city- she enjoys suburban life.
Though Lurier doesn’t plan on pursuing film in the future, she believes that things in her life could change, and for now she hopes to one day study photography as a hobby. Lurier will keep the lessons she learned at the Academy close to her heart as she enters college next fall.
