Elite Champions

Georgia Cyber Academy students earn top honors for Opposite Equalities, a short film that brings “Building Bridges: Stories That Connect Us” to life.

Georgia Cyber Academy’s Elite Champions student film team has been recognized with the Theme Award at the inaugural ATL Jewish Film Student Filmmaking Competition and Showcase. Competing against more than 100 students from nine metro Atlanta schools, our students’ original short film, Opposite Equalities, was selected as the project that best exemplified the competition’s theme: “Building Bridges: Stories That Connect Us.”

The ATL Jewish Film Student Filmmaking Competition and Showcase is a new, city-wide initiative of ATL Jewish Film, designed to amplify student voices and deepen social and cultural understanding through film.

In its inaugural year, the competition:

• Brought together more than 100 students

• Included nine participating schools across public, private, and charter settings

• Featured ten original short films, all inspired by the theme “Building Bridges: Stories That Connect Us.”

Student teams progressed through a seven-stage production process that mirrored professional filmmaking - from concept development and scriptwriting to casting, filming, editing, and final presentation at the Tara Theatre in Atlanta. Along the way, they explored how stories can bridge divides in identity, culture, history, and perspective.

Opposite Equalities

The Elite Champions created Opposite Equalities, an original short film that follows two high school girls, Hannah and Kim, as they navigate colorism, classism, and preconceived assumptions while competing for a robotics scholarship.

Through their evolving relationship, the film explores:

• How bias and social barriers can divide students who share more in common than they realize

• What it means to truly “build bridges” in a school community

• How collaboration and empathy can transform competition into connection

The film stood out to judges for its narrative depth, clear structure, strong performances, and alignment with the competition’s theme.

Under the guidance of Media Production Specialist Aaron Bell and Community Partnerships leader Tonette Price, students experienced a comprehensive, start-to-finish filmmaking process.

Over several months, the team:

• Translated the “Building Bridges” theme into a fully developed story with characters, conflict, and resolution

• Learned the fundamentals of story structure, character development, and script formatting

• Assigned real-world film roles—such as writers, director, cinematographer, sound, lighting, and editor

• Participated in virtual table reads, script revisions, and a virtual casting call

• Attended in-person workshops on professional techniques, including the master scene method, coverage, slating, and on-set communication

• Planned and executed a one-day location shoot at GCA’s offices, using careful set design to simulate a traditional school environment

• Completed post-production editing under student leadership, with coaching on both technical and storytelling decisions

Because Georgia Cyber Academy is a virtual school, approximately 70% of the collaboration took place online, demonstrating that meaningful, hands-on creative work can thrive in a virtual learning environment.

"An Award for Us as Parents"

The impact of the project extended beyond the students to their families. Ms. Reynolds, parent of Elite Champions team member Cydnee, shared:

“As parents, we always want our kids to experience new endeavors—especially ones that could open positive, developmental, and creative journeys. Cydnee has always had a zeal for writing, and when the opportunity arose for her to use that skillset, she was ready for it. We were happy for the initiative and willing to support her in this task.

 

Atlanta Jewish Film and Georgia Cyber Academy allowed Cydnee and her teammates to venture into a very exclusive moment—one where they built a bond, opened their eyes to talents they may not have known they had, and created memories that will never fade.

 

To see the sheer exhilaration and joy at the culmination, with an award that encompassed their hard work, initiative, and growth, was an award to us as parents. Their team was a perfect mix that could only have truly embodied the name of Elite Champions.”

— Ms. Reynolds, parent of Cydnee

The Theme Award is presented to the film that most powerfully expresses the competition’s central idea of building bridges across differences.

A member of the competition jury, Amanda Vincent, Business Development Manager at Tyler Perry Studios, wrote directly to the cast and crew of Opposite Equalities to commend their work. She praised the film’s exploration of elitism, social stratification, and the universal human search for belonging, and encouraged the students to continue developing their storytelling voices.

Tonette Price, Assistant Director of Communications: Community Partnerships

Aaron Bell, Media Production Specialist