Second place winner in the film category is Alexandra Duran, Rogers High School graduate. Alexandra plans on pursuing film and television as a career after attending Savannah College of Art and Design.
“Art is my form of communication. As an autistic individual, I experience Alexithymia, which is the difficulty in identifying emotions, difficulty in differentiating between feelings and bodily sensations, and difficulty processing emotions entirely. I tend to rely on using pictures of animals or other visuals to communicate how I feel to others. Art has always been constant in my life, showing up in differing forms: painting, drawing, film, and even ceramics. Inherently, art has fulfilled the role of being a coping mechanism and an outlet. I will continue to express my emotions and voice my opinions through the arts.”
Alexandra was in elementary school when she began using a camera lens to share her perspective. Her experiences with her camera not only inspired an arts education and career, but a feeling of accomplishment and confidence as well. It allows her to look back at her younger self and reassure her by saying “everything will be okay, people will see you for the creative individual that you are, and you will flourish.”