'Life Beyond the Lights'

Faith Lutheran youths explore plight of homeless

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They may be students who drive expensive vehicles, take family vacations in exotic places and wear the latest fashions. But they can tell you a lot about living on the streets. That's because these students spent the last nine months putting together a documentary on those less privileged than they are.

A premiere for the resulting film, "Life Beyond the Lights," is planned for 7 p.m. Friday at Faith Lutheran High School, 2015 S. Hualapai Way. Tickets are $5 per person.

Additional showings will be presented throughout the weekend. For more information, visit www.faithlutheranlv.org/iacon.

More than a dozen Faith Lutheran students were part of the project which was made through Iacon Pictures, a student film group at the school.

The production team included Cameron Tripp, Harry Anger, Aaron Macris, Andy Vieluf, Dave Matthews, Anthony Santos, Russell Aaron, Taylor Hoeft, Andy Vieluf, Matthew Stoldal, Tyler Hoornerman, Tomas Perry, Matthew Inouye, Daniel Dickinson and Filip Dziedick.

At the helm of the project was Jose Diaz, the school's computer science teacher and the film's producer/director. It was his idea to focus on homeless youngsters.

"I wanted to do this because I saw an old movie that followed around a homeless kid and I thought, 'Things really haven't changed,' " he said.

Each week, the students went to a downtown corner known to be frequented by homeless youth to find their subjects. One teen was followed for 24 hours. Others in the documentary were interviewed on the spot or as the Faith students walked beside them.

The film has references to underage prostitution and drug use. Such revelations prompted school officials to put out a letter of caution that read, "Due to the dark overtones of this film, the director and the administration have decided that all students in eighth grade and below must be accompanied by a parent or guardian."

Macris, 17, said doing the project changed his view on things and helped him realize how little he has to worry about.

"You hear the word 'homeless' and you think of some bum," he said. "You don't think of someone my age."

Matthews connected with one child, a homeless boy of 9. The Faith Lutheran student gave away a bracelet he had with an inspirational message -- "When in doubt, pray" -- after he learned the boy just had a birthday.

"Sometimes I asked myself, 'Why do I have so much?' " he said, adding he was tempted to offer cash. "You can give everything you have and it still wouldn't be enough."

Hoeft, 15, is planning for a career in screenwriting, so the project was a natural fit for him. It also changed how he views the homeless.

"I learned you don't judge a book by its cover," he said. "When we see the homeless on the street, people lock their car doors. It hurts me to see that because these kids are not given a chance."

Tripp was first assistant director and dealt with the parameters about what could and couldn't be in the film.

"There were a lot of legal issues," he said. "We were (restricted) in what we were allowed to portray -- locations or references to existing entities -- it could be construed as slander."

Diaz and his students have made three previous films documenting the school's football, wrestling and basketball seasons, but none were as ambitious as "Life Beyond the Lights." The project cost $7,000. The majority, $5,000, was put up by Diaz. The school chipped in $1,000 and a parent provided another $1,000.

The production team worked closely with the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, WestCare, the Las Vegas Outreach Team, Girls and Boys Town, the Center of Independent Living and Metro Bolden Command.

Diaz said "Life Beyond the Lights" will be entered into film festivals and he hopes it will eventually be shown at Robert Redford's Sundance Festival.

Asked what he hopes the film achieves, he said that it brings to light the problems of the less advantaged.

"We have a massive homeless problem in Las Vegas," he said. "We just don't know the solution."