It is an exciting start to the school year with Mr. Hughes rollin’ out those reels. He teaches the film class at Western, where students of all grades watch movies and learn the skills it takes to make films. He started out the year by watching a few ten minute silent movies and now has escalated into the classics.

The first major motion picture of the class is “Casablanca.” Mr. Hughes picked this film for the start of the year because it is considered one of the best films ever and because he wants to teach kids how to use film and camera angles to get a specific affect and how to have a in depth story line.

Hughes hopes to teach how to watch movies and look at them more in depth to get more enjoyment out of them. The next movie is going to be “Gravity,” where this lesson will be emphasized.

He is excited to get the kids to watch contemporary movies, with an objective. Another one of his goals for the class is to incorporate diverse directors. 

“I am trying to do more representation on African American directors, female directors,” he said.