By Alexander Mo
Senior Writer

Senior Max Andrews has taken an impressive step toward his dreams of Hollywood success with his first film production. Max and nine other students from around the Bay Area planned, shot and edited their own short film entitled “Four Short Stories about Love” with guidance from film industry professionals. The film tells the story of four Jewish teenagers and how their relationships are affected by their religious and cultural identities.

The four stories are weaved together almost seamlessly and show much care in their imagery and pace. “Stories” was created in the second year of the New Jewish Filmmakers Project sponsored by the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.

So how did a teenager initially only interested in still photography get involved in a motion picture project?

“Well, in early summer of 2002, my mom saw an ad [about the Project] at the temple I belong to, so I applied and I eventually got in,” Max said.

The application process involved an online submission and a call-back interview. Criteria included being receptive to new ideas, having good storytelling abilities, being a team player and keeping a time commitment. Max definitely fit all the criteria.

“When I got into the project, I knew there would be a big commitment, but [the end result] was beyond anything I had imagined.” Max said.

Out of the 52 who applied, Max was one of 10 members who made the final production team. Then, the grueling one-year project began with a summer-long planning session.

“The last two ideas left standing out of the planning stage were romantic love and [a contrast of] young and old generations. We decided to combine the two,” Max said.

Production for the film, including audio commentary and on-location shooting, lasted through the end of 2002 and into early 2003. Team members interviewed each other on a sound stage in an effort to find subject matter for the film. Audio commentary for each segment was extracted from these recorded interviews.

Max was most heavily involved in the longest stage of the film, post-production.

“I went in to the studio for two to five hours, two or three times a week for about five months just editing my segment,” Max said.

Max said his love for computers naturally drew him to the editing portion of the film. The project eventually condensed 1 hour and 45 minutes of footage into a 10 minute final product.

All of the team’s hard work paid off when the film premiered on July 28, 2003 in front of 1,500 people on the closing night of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Audience members and judges alike gave the film positive feedback. The New York Times even commented that the film was a “well crafted gem.”

“The accomplishment feels great…to have something you’re proud of, to have something you’ve finished,” Max said.

Max has also learned a great deal about himself and what it means to be Jewish. This experience made a meaningful impact on his life.

“I definitely felt something change within me, though I don’t know what it is, I know something has changed,” Max said.

After going through this project, Hollywood should be no problem at all.