'When do we start?' Signature School junior wins contest to film her short screenplay

EVANSVILLE − A Signature School junior is getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a filmmaker for the better part of a year, and she can't wait to start.

Kaitlyn Chaumell, 17, entered the 2024 Constellation Stage & Screen competition, where Indiana high school students in grades 9 through 12 compete in a statewide screenwriting contest. They are asked to submit their own original short film script for the chance to have a professional company bring their vision to life.

"We look for a script that has an authentic voice and a story that really speaks to a student's or a young person's experience that they're living and Kaitlyn's script did check that box," said Constellation Stage and Screen Director of Film Emelie Flower.

This is the sixth year for the project. Last year's winner was from Columbus. This is the first time a student has been selected from Evansville.

Constellation officials say they will partner with the school and community to ensure both Chaumell and everyone else involved get the most from this experience. Winners of this project get to shadow film professionals who will be assisting with the film to get as much hands-on experience as they can.

For the next few months, Chaumell will be learning everything she can about filmmaking: writing, editing, shooting, fundraising and more.

"You can tell she was writing from a place of experience and our goal with this project is to highlight stories of young people in Indiana to make sure that they know that their stories matter," said Flower.

With Indiana not being a popular hub like New York City or Los Angeles, the organization wanted to bring some of that coolness here to inspire Indiana students to want to get into the art.

"It's a chance to expose young people to an aspect of creative arts that they may not otherwise have a chance to experience and sort of inspire young people to begin writing and creating and telling their own stories," said Constellation Stage & Screen Development Director John Armstrong on why they chose to target high schoolers for this work.

Wanting to see the face behind the video and script, the project constellation folks traveled from Bloomington to tell her in person, much to her surprise.

Walking into a room where she's surrounded by her parents who've known all week, 12 classmates, and other school officials, she had no idea what she was walking into. Shock and confusion were written on her face as she saw two bright smiling film pros smiling at her to announce the good news.

Barely being able to contain her excitement when asked if she had any questions, the only thing she could state was when do we get started?

Her story, titled "Truth Be Told," draws from both her own experiences and those around her in similar situations.

"I really tried to draw my experiences but I [drew] from the wisdom I've heard from my parents, things I've heard from my peers, and tried to make the characters more realistic," Chaumell said on wanting to portray the duality of life and how sometimes things can be bad and good.

As an avid writer for the school newspaper and yearbook, Chaumell understands that sometimes people don't feel comfortable telling their story but that made her want to work harder to be that voice for some kids.

"It's a very real story and I've met a lot of people with very similar experiences but a lot of times they're too nervous to share those experiences. I feel as though it needs to be told because a lot of times people just don't want to share that because they're worried they'll be judged or they're just kind of scared of being vulnerable," she said.

Wanting to make sure that everyone's story is told is a big goal for the whole team. And the organization emphasized while Kaitlyn did win, this is something for the whole school.

They plan to work with administration so ensure anyone interested in shadowing someone or helping out, has that opportunity.

The final film will be premiered at Constellation’s Student Film Festival and in Evansville before they release it at other film festivals and subsequently release it for online streaming.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Kaitlyn Chaumell of Signature School in Evansville wins film contest