MBJH student’s film shown at Hollywood festival

Christina Xing nudged her friend and told him to read the text message she received from her mother.

“OMG [oh, my goodness], you’re going to Hollywood,” read Xing’s friend Eric Thompson.

Xing, on her way to a marching band performance, had to contain her tears and excitement. Her film, Listen, was selected to be screened at the 2013 International Student Film Festival in Hollywood in October. 

Suzy Guo, Xing’s mother, reread the email three times before she texted her daughter the big news. Still in disbelief, she forwarded the email to her daughter’s film teacher, Shareon Flowers.

With Xing’s name on the festival’s website, doubt disappeared that this ninth grade Mountain Brook Junior High School student’s film was chosen as one of only 74 films to be screened. 

Xing starred in and co-directed the film, alongside her 15-year-old friend Brendan Bennett. Their film crew was comprised of Xing’s friends from Nebraska, Colorado and California. 

Chosen from a mound of films made by students in elementary school to graduate school, Xing’s film uses dramatic music to complement the emotional story of two brothers struggling to make a better life for themselves. The film explores drug dealing, discovering one’s potential and seizing opportunities. 

Although the short film only took one week to film, it has already made an award-winning and emotional imprint on people during its first premiere during August 2013.  

Many of the audience members cried during the short film’s preview, including Guo. Guo attributes the film’s power to its soundtrack. 

The main song used in the film came from the video game “To the Moon,” and its designer/composer Kan “Reives” Gao gladly gave Xing and her production crew permission to use the song.

In Listen, 14-year-old Xing plays a student who teaches the main character, Jake (played by Bennett), how to play “To the Moon” on piano.

But unlike Bennett, Xing has actually played piano for seven years, as well as clarinet for three years. Around the same time she tapped into her musical talent, which was sparked by admiration of her flute-playing sister, Xing developed a passion and flair for film. 

“I used to make quick shorts with my mom’s camera, and she’d get mad because she didn’t know where it was,” Xing said.” “I used to make Lego films and documentaries about my elementary school drama.”

Guo did not recognize her daughter’s talent for film until she noticed her YouTube channel when Xing was in seventh grade. She could not believe she had not noticed the talent in her daughter, which started in the second grade when Xing would write stories and make old-school “moving pictures” with photographs.

Now, Xing has about four short films she is especially proud of and more than 30 homemade videos on her YouTube channel.

Xing said she was nervous about presenting Listen at the festival. 

“I’ve been practicing [my speech] with my friends over Skype, but I always end up cracking up,” Xing said. 

But no matter how much anxiety Xing builds up, her main goal remained to enjoy herself with her friends. They plan to adorn themselves in their fanciest attire as if they had just “walked out of a spy movie montage,” Xing said. 

And they would not mind winning, of course. 

“I hope we win, Xing said. “Fingers crossed.” 

See for yourself

To watch Xing’s other films and videos, visit her YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/AlmostChristina?feature=watch.