An uncomfortable silence falls on the screen as the heartbreaking story of character Aydin Smith unfolds before the audience. A plot filled with themes of grief, questioning social identity and the uncomfortability found within life compel the viewers to keep watching. To some, the film will be an addicting reflection of reality, to others, a terrible revelation. “Tunnel Vision” — a film directed and made by students — is coming to fruition by the end of the school year. 

Director Cooper Shoe (11) started “Tunnel Vision” with a concept, and from there, organized a cast and crew through a series of applications and auditions. Within the crew, there are several teams for various elements of the production such as the writing, the filming, costume design and music teams. The music team is led by Sergio Rivas (12) and Gabby Cain (12), with an advisory position filled by Dylan Lira, White Station High School’s (WSHS) Japanese teacher. All the music in “Tunnel Vision” will be original work. Also through the application process, Anthony Bowen (12) became the film’s assistant director; his responsibility is to oversee the various moving parts of producing “Tunnel Vision.” 

“For me, I think the [most] exciting thing is just the process in itself, seeing all of the behind the scenes and the development,” Bowen said. “We are working with a lot of actors that I have experienced, some that I’m new to experience, and I’m just really excited to work with a very diverse cast of different people and [guide] them, because this is something that I’m passionate [about] and want to do as a profession when I get older.”

In order to promote and fundraise for “Tunnel Vision,” leadership on the music team and Cooper Shoe worked to put on “The Blind Spot” — a concert featuring local musicians, food trucks and entertainment for kids. Taking place on the 21st of February, the concert was five hours and featured bands like Blunt Force, Above Jupiter, Tales of Eden, Serg., The Gutters and T-08. Lira served as the drummer for both his band, Tales of Eden, and for Serg.

“The concept that we’re holding is — kind of in my brain — is almost like a PG Coachella at school,” Bowen said. “It is going with maybe not as many tents. It is going to just have a lot of different bands coming … and I’m really excited for it. We’re going to have more activities for children to do. We’re going to be selling food [as well]. This is a fundraiser to help raise money and also get more publicity for [‘Tunnel Vision’].”

To plan The Blind Spot, “Tunnel Vision” leadership had to coordinate with principal Carrye Holland. They also had to reach out to various food trucks and the bands, taking the initiative upon themselves to fund the production of “Tunnel Vision.” Tickets for The Blind Spot were $10, as advertised by the posters hung up around WSHS and the posts on social media accounts for “Tunnel Vision.”

“So we asked quite a few of the Memphis area bands that are kind of active right now,” Lira said. “[Rivas] definitely knows and has been networking with and meeting with a lot of the members or leaders of those bands. I know the name Blunt Force is a pretty big one right now and they’re going to be kind of rocking the house for us … And we’ve got some solo artists as well, like [Rivas] himself is going to play. And he’s got a group of Hispanic musicians in the area who also have some published music that he’s going to be doing duo sets with.”

Although the initiative was taken by the students, adults also assisted. Andria Shoe, the mother of Cooper Shoe, was heavily involved in planning the event. Lira also assisted in organizing The Blind Spot, offering suggestions to students as they communicated with administration and businesses. This is not the first time Lira has supported student-led projects, and he is content to continue helping students like Cooper Shoe shine in their passions.

“[“Tunnel Vision” is] such a blank canvas and it’s unprecedented,” Lira said. “There’s no telling, but I’d like to believe that one, it’ll show students that you can organize events as long as there’s evidence of planning, thoughtful planning. Two, our administration, especially Ms. Holland herself, are super supportive of the things that we do. She just likes to see some sort of game plan.”

With the money raised from The Blind Spot, “Tunnel Vision” will potentially have sufficient funds to launch in full force. This means that the money needed for cameras, props and costumes will be available to the respective teams. “Tunnel Vision” allows students to consider the idea of being in film in the future while also showcasing their current talents. 

“Being involved with independent, student-led projects like this gives students real-life experience in their field of interest,” Andria Shoe said. “It gives students the first-hand experience of what working professionally would be like.” 

Although Tunnel Vision represents the collaborative effort of highschoolers, the film also acknowledges the struggles that many teens experience. Many of the themes found within “Tunnel Vision” are darker. Suicide, for example, is heavily featured in the film, among other potentially disturbing content. The point is to give students across America a voice. “Tunnel Vision”  tests the balance between fiction and the reality it is supposed to reflect.

“I know for older people, [they are] not fully equipped with the knowledge of what students go through now in modern times in regards to high school,” Bowen said. “And I hope that this is going to kind of show that it’s not just schoolwork. There are a lot of things going into it that can affect scores and that can just be a lot. I’m hoping that those watching [“Tunnel Vision” will] help build better support systems for those students.”

After the film is completed, it will be released and submitted to competitions. “Tunnel Vision” is scheduled to release in May, after several months of work. Although many of the people assisting in the making of “Tunnel Vision” are seniors, Cooper Shoe has considered continuing next year with this production company, possibly exploring other genres. 

“As for next year, I want to do … more small-scale projects to keep the creativity going,” Cooper Shoe said. “Hiring a different, smaller cast and crew to keep things different and give new people opportunities. I don’t want this to fizzle out before I make it out of high school, you know?”