For a senior in high school, Camille Speer maintains an impressive resume in film making. She won esteemed awards including the Peer Promise Gold Award at the Television Internet & Video Association of D.C. Film Competition for her video “Art Promotional”. In addition, she won a $4,000 scholarship for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship for her 3 video submissions: Lost Confederate Gold, Alter Ego, and Pink Ballerina.
When Speer realized that she won all of the awards, she said, “I was grateful that I was able to work with a lot of people.” Speer strives to receive more awards and is also working on a new movie that will be filmed at Langley High School, entitled Heller Syndrome. The movie is a satirical twist on the book Catch 22 read in her AP English class. The movie is about an average student who does not like math, and is inspired by the novel Catch 22 to try and fix the corrupted education system in his school.
Speer’s love of film making actually stemmed from acting. Speer used to be a film actress when she was younger, but she also loved writing and creating art which could be made into a story. She loved acting on screen but she felt that she loved storytelling a little more.
For advice for novice film makers, Camille Speer acknowledges that it is important for students to develop an interest in film making early so they can pursue their interests easier. Speer tells novice film makers to “take courses to develop skills, and practice a lot.” More importantly she states that students should “form connections with other film makers because friendships are important,” and directors in the Hollywood Business cannot go far without knowing other people.
Speer says that she knows that she will want to pursue a more intensive career in college, and hopefully become the “next big thing”.