Raise the lights, pan the cameras and add the music – starring in this new feature film is Claire Imler, senior and aspiring filmmaker. After winning best youth filmmaker at the Long Beach Indie International Film Festival, Imler was awarded a four-year scholarship to the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Imler won the scholarship for her documentary “Jackie Krisher: No Limits.”

“The Film is about Jackie, an 82 year old, who competes in triathlons and marathons to raise money for the Leukemia Society, and this past year she learned how to swim to complete her first triathlon,” Imler said.

But, Imler didn’t achieve all this success without tons of work and a little help. For the aspiring filmmaker, the process started when her mom met Jackie at an event and thought that she would be a good subject for her daughter’s documentary.

Then, Imler started the process with pre-production and writing the script, followed by production, where she had to account for lighting, angles, and sound to get the perfect shot, finally editing everything together with added music to complete her film.

“For my documentary, I followed Jackie’s story for a full year, and the film has gotten lots of nominations and recognition at different film festivals across the country and even London,” Imler said.

Her film has been part of the official selection at various festivals including, the Orange County Film Festival, the SoCal Student Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Although she won a four-year scholarship to the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, she plans on applying to other film schools, including Chapman University, but this award cements her as a filmmaker with a bright future ahead of her.
Besides all her work on her documentary, Imler is the current ASB Media Director for Woodbridge High School and she has a big role there too.

“Claire leads and helps guide us in creating our ideas and making our broadcasts. Overall, she fosters the whole Warrior TV program,” senior and Warrior TV member, Kailie Michalak said.

From Warrior TV to her own independent films, Imler is making an impact in the film world already. All that’s left to say is, lights, camera, action!