After sharing his five-minute film, “The Struggle,” at an Upper School (US) assembly, Alex Hughes ’26 saw his class project reach a wider stage. A candid look at Alex’s life with ADHD, the film was selected for the Boston International Kids Film Festival (BIKFF) Next Gen Voices showcase, where it won the Judges’ Choice Award over 11 other entries.
US Film Teacher Christopher Gaines, who serves on the board of Filmmakers Collaborative, worked with Alex to develop “The Struggle” in his Intermediate Filmmaking class and arranged its assembly screening and BIKFF submission. US Visual Arts Teacher Laura Tangusso, Mr. Gaines and 10 US students attended the Nov. 21 BIKFF event at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown.
Mr. Gaines also submitted “Outbound” by Avi Nagin ’24. The festival, currently invitational, aims to move toward a more competitive format next year.
Alex worked on “The Struggle” from April to June 2024.
“I originally didn’t have the main focus of spreading awareness for ADHD and was just telling a story about myself. But Mr. Gaines pushed me to deepen my film’s message around ADHD. Film class helped me understand what was going on in my life.”
Creating his film helped Alex process his experiences.
“It was a rough time for me,” he said. “I was struggling in classes and with personal stuff. At first, I was shy to turn that idea into a film. But I realized that other people are experiencing ADHD, so I pushed myself to share my personal experiences through the film.”
The film drew on a series of videos of Alex’s daily life.
“My clips were just basic ones filmed on my phone, and through them, I was able to orchestrate the tone of the film,” he said. “I used them in specific spots of the film to dramatize it and make it sad at times but also funny with the baby clips.”
After the assembly, students approached Alex with positive feedback.
“Get your ideas and experiences out there because no one’s going to judge you for it,” he said. “Be open, and especially if you have a personal experience that you haven’t told anybody about, there’s others experiencing this, and it’ll connect you to them. I hope kids with ADHD know they’re not alone. Everyone has their own struggles, so it’s important to check in on people because you never fully know what’s going on in their lives.”
Alex met with Mr. Gaines during the final week of school in 2024 to polish his work.
“What showed me that Mr. Gaines cared not just about the film but about me was when he made me stay on the last day, and we made sure the film was at its best,” he said. “Little tweaks, like adding a slo-mo at the start, helped my film exceed.”
Mr. Gaines said the project assignment was to create a personal documentary.
“Alex’s film struck me as something extra amazing because Alex would have convinced me that he couldn’t do stuff like that and that ADHD doesn’t allow that freedom. But when Alex dialed in, he was able to tell a really honest, painful story in a professional way.”
Mr. Gaines worked with Alex to focus his film on his experience with ADHD.
“The film came out of a place of, ‘What am I looking at, buddy? Why can’t you focus in class?’ And I thought there was something there, and he was willing to explore it. When I asked Alex if he had any interest in sharing his story, he said he was down for it with the promise that if he made it and it wasn’t good, no one had to see it.”
Mr. Gaines received feedback after Alex shared his film.
“A lot of people have come to me, and his film really hit them in a strong way,” he said. “No one can tell if you’re being honest better than other teenagers. Alex’s film was so well received because he was so truthful and honest.”
Mr. Gaines recently revived the BB&N Films YouTube channel, releasing one throwback and one new student film each week. He featured “The Struggle” on Oct. 22.
“If all the stories have been told, the only stories left are your own,” he said. “Personal, truthful stories are what connect us with art, and that’s the difference between art and craft. Really good art reveals something about the person who made it, and to me, that’s the only way to do it.”
Mimi Fulop ’28 watched “The Struggle” in assembly.
“A lot of people have ADHD but don’t necessarily talk about it, and there’s misconceptions about what it is,” she said. “Alex’s film showed that people are multifaceted, and there’s more to them than what conditions or diagnoses they have.”
Ms. Tangusso arranged for US students to view Alex’s film at the BIKFF.
“We value arts in our culture that reflect back to us things we feel or think or are concerned about, and when you see someone else telling a story that you relate to, there’s a sense that you’re not alone in that experience,” she said.
