Budding Nora Ephrons, Steven Spielbergs and Greta Gerwigs tumble out of the Air Academy High School hallways and into the courtyard. As students and teachers toil away in their classrooms, the Film as Literature class sinks into the creative flow of filmmaking. Today’s shoot: “Famous For N othing,” a 10 to 11-minute romcom hastily written by English and film teacher Thomas McCartney when a student requested more time on their script. Director of cinema senior Jacob Bane, right, and audio technician junior Ethan Gould set up the audio boom before filming the student written “Wrong-Com” movie Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, during their Film as Literature class at Air Academy High School. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) McCartney hangs back, watching as the dozen or so kids scatter around the concrete yard, each knowing their role and what’s expected of them while shooting the climax scene. “It’s going to look like a Western showdown,” McCartney says. “Should we get a tumbleweed?” asks one of the students. Good idea, but there’s no time and no tumbleweeds. “I train the kids on how to do all their jobs,” McCartney said. “And then I guide them if they need it, but for the most part, they’re getting on-the-job experience where they learn how to do it themselves.” With the camera set up, the set goes quiet. The school doors across the courtyard bang open. Two girls stalk out, one with a headful of cotton candy-colored hair holding a guitar case, the other in a backwards hat and camo pants. Cotton candy is clearly irked, and stomps her foot aggressively. Cut. Actors Seiga Marston, left, and Austin Dunn share a light moment as the crew sets up for a scene Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, during the Film as Literature class at Air Academy High School. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) “I watched that whole thing,” McCartney calls out. “That was so good.” “You told me to do angry toddler, and that’s what I did,” she responds, delighted by the praise. In the film, a girl gets dumped by her boyfriend, who steals the song they wrote together, though she’s the one who really wrote it, and gets TikTok famous. It will be one of about eight student-made films to be screened in May at the school’s fourth annual film festival. “It used to be just family that came,” McCartney said. “Now people just come to see it. My plan is to make this the premier school for film in Colorado. If you want to send your kid to a high school knowing this is their passion, to take them further into their career, you come to Air Academy.” Before McCartney arrived at the school in 2022, the curriculum of the Film as Literature class was what you might expect: watch movies, take notes, write essays. As McCartney says: “Boring.” So when he showed up and was offered to teach mythology or Film as Literature, he opted for the latter. A plan was germinating. Cinematographer Ryan Rudzinski records a scene from the student written “Wrong-Com” movie Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, during their Film as Literature class at Air Academy High School. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) “I’m a big proponent of learning by doing, putting theory to practice,” he said. “So they’re learning the different film genres. They watch the movie, analyze them, read books in the genre, analyze those for theme elements of what makes the genre the genre, and they write movies that are in the genre. And as they’re doing that, they’re also learning film elements.” Kids loved the refreshed film class and were so hungry for more that McCartney expanded the class into a film program that now has three levels of classes. And if that still doesn’t satiate them, students can attend his Friday after-school film club. “I really felt they were bored doing analysis,” McCartney said. “I‘ve taught drama before. I have a penchant for films and for making movies on my own, so I thought I’d bring my experience here, and the kids glommed onto it.” Recently, one of McCartney’s classes dug into the mystery/noir genre, which introduced them to the concept of hardboiled detectives, actor Humphrey Bogart, and films of the 1940s. It inspired their own whodunit about a murdered prom queen, with suspects, a detective, and the proper lighting and costumes for a noir film. “(The film program) invites students into a new space where they can be creative,” said Air Academy principal Amy Ripperger. “They can be part of a community and a team working on the different aspects. One student told us that, for an introvert like she is, it allows her to build those skills as part of a team.” Students have an “egalitarian process,” McCartney says, where they work together on pitch meetings, writing the script, cold reads, editing and everything else that goes into making a movie. “It’s inspired me to do things I wouldn’t normally do, like scriptwriting,” said senior Taylor Towell. “And in college I’m going to minor in film, which I wouldn’t have done if I didn’t find this place.” Towell’s been taking film classes for two and a half years and also participates in the club. On this particular romcom, she’s helping direct actors. “I’ve learned leadership qualities and how to interact with people I wouldn’t normally interact with, like lower-classmen,” she said. “How to keep everyone’s spirits up, how to keep everyone engaged and having a good time in the place they love.” Visual arts teacher April Mullinix, who works with the film program and oversees cameras, sound and editing, is impressed with how it’s grown leadership and confidence in the students. Like the director on today’s shoot, who’s making her romcom leads earn their keep by doing multiple takes. “She was not coming in as a leader. She held back,” Mullinix said. “Then she realized nobody else was doing anything, and she jumped in.” Part of being an educator is finding what connects with students and helps them explore possibilities they hadn’t thought of before, Ripperger says. “When I talk to students, that’s what Mr. McCartney is doing,” she said. “This can be a place where they can thrive and find a home. I love the program. It’s doing some fantastic things.” ...read more read less