OnCampus: Kids' Film World Premiere Boasts Love, Intrigue ... and Burritos

You can’t help but be intrigued by the plot summary of “Broken Bonds.”

Bearing the tagline “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” the roughly 15-minute film tells the story of how jealousy over Davey the Burrito Guy simmers between a young girl and her friend – aka “the man-stealing jerk” – and eventually pushes one of them over the edge.

I won’t give away the ending, but I’m told it involves a few sips of lemonade.

All told, the film has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster, from a love triangle and a jilted girlfriend to a murderous framing and a courtroom drama.

But it was made by kids.

“Bonds” is the end result of a month-long Film Camp offered through Harper College’s summer InZone program; the students, ages 10 to 14, wrote the script, scouted out film locations, acted in the scenes, directed the movie and shot the film using high-quality HD equipment. A professional editor was brought in afterward to tie up the film’s loose ends.

Paul Barile, a Chicago actor and filmmaker who led the course alongside actress Sarah Hall – her credits include appearances on Gilmore Girls and ER – says the movie is high quality, and also predicts his students have, if they so choose, potentially promising futures in film. 

Nine-year-old Delaney Collis of Hoffman Estates says she’s always wanted to be an actress. So playing the part of one of the Burrito Guy’s girlfriends, she says, was a treat.

“It was fun playing a character in a love triangle who messed with, and got back at, this guy who was dating a lot of other girls,” Collis says.

Suhaas Venkatesh, a 13-year-old from Palatine, also found joy in his role as a character who exhibited a variety of personalities onscreen, from a germaphobe to a downright jerk.

“With acting,” Venkatesh says, “I’m silly and in the moment, doing whatever I feel.”

Noah Snyder, a 13-year-old from Palatine, says his ideal role might be behind the camera.

“I like changing the effects and the angles and being in charge of developing how others see the film,” says Snyder, whose “Bonds” roles included assistant cameraman, director of photography and a brief onscreen appearance. But his favorite part was working together with his classmates.

“There was a sense of community, because we all worked together and got to know each other,” Snyder says. “It was collaborative, and at the end we all felt really accomplished.”

The students learned plenty along the way, of course, including, they say, the surprising reality of how long it really takes to shoot a movie. They took about an hour per scene.

The kids will premiere their movie at 6:30 p.m. Monday, August 1 in the Building J Theatre on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. The screening will boast a blooper reel at the movie’s end – a particularly fun piece for the kids, Barile says – and a red carpet.

Eleven-year-old Victoria DiMelis of Inverness, who helped write the movie’s script and played the lead character, has high hopes for those who attend the evening premiere.

“I hope they’ll want to see it again,” she says, “and I hope they say they enjoy it.”

Harper’s summer InZone enrichment and sports camp boasts more than 200 courses for children ages 8 to 14. For more information, call 847.925.6300 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/youth.