Don’t dim the lights, don’t even move, and don’t make a sound unless instructed to do so. Everything is quiet, a little too quiet but you know you’re not alone. The only thing you can hear is your own heart beating against your chest, and the loud puff of air you breathe out. Suddenly, you smile and look straight at the camera as someone yells “Action!”

South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual film and music festival that takes place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. SXSW presents a special film competition for students enrolled in Texas High Schools. A few selected films will be shown in the Texas High School Shorts screening as part of the program.

“Just getting into the festival is winning, just so you know, like getting your work seen; there are a lot of celebrities and industry professionals and it’s a really good opportunity for getting your work seen,” the audio production teacher, Ms. Milson said. The program is a fun festival; however it is quite exclusive and expensive to enter, “They only take twenty-four in the whole state, and to be honest it’s usually very exclusive private schools that usually get into the program. Just getting accepted into the festival is a huge honor,” Milson said.

Even though SXSW is very difficult to enter, two amazingly talented students, Jared Dedonato and Colin Kaotara have been accepted into the Texas High School Shorts screening for directing their documentary, “Through the Eyes of Autism.” This emotional brilliant film got Dedonato and Kaotara free passes to experience the festival and all of its amazing opportunities.

It wasn’t easy to create a beautiful documentary, but it was clearly more difficult to enter their film. In order for a film to be accepted, it has to be appropriate, original, and nearly perfect. These young men worked hard on their project for SXSW and made sure to keep it safe from prying eyes.

“You do not want to copy the film and release it on the internet or anything that’s viral because you’ll probably… well actually, you will be disqualified,” Dedonato said.

Their film, “Through the Eyes of Autism,” is an extraordinary and emotional rollercoaster of these young men explaining how they observe the world. “That makes four of us talking about how we really don’t fit into society and we want to be appreciated,” Dedonato said. “I mean like, we just want to be like… we just want to fit in this world.”

The brilliant documentary was a project the boys clearly felt very passionate about. “To be like, an equal to other students by not treating us so different,” Kaotara said. “Some people don’t believe in autism. Shocking, isn’t it?”

South by Southwest attracts true film lovers such as the press, filmmakers, industry leaders, and passionate fans. SXSW Film Conference brings people together for the brightest experience of the Film industry into one vibrant community. You can have conversations with this year’s most talented creators, to one-on-one mentor discussions with film industry experts. The SXSW Film Conference will be March 11-15 and the SXSW Film Festival will be hosted March 11-19. SXSW provides extraordinary opportunities to network with fellow filmmakers, programmers, agents, etc. Future filmmakers can experience a sense of the current film industry, see what other talented filmmakers are creating, and experience how much hard work can be appreciated by the press and industry. So future filmmakers, get out your equipment because it’s time for lights, camera, and action!