Everyone’s seen him, that kid who sits alone in the lunchroom. You know he’s there; you aren’t mean to him, but do you interact with him? That’s the question that came into my mind as the idea for “The Ryan Story” filled my brain. This short film follows Jon, a popular jock with little regard for anyone but himself, as he forms a friendship with Ryan, the school nobody. As the two unlikely friends grow into best friends, while the other jocks come to hate Jon. However, Jon does not desert Ryan; he stays by him, even when tragedy strikes.

I brought this film to the Indiana State Thespian Conference for the annual film competition. Out of approximately 16 films, “The Ryan Story” took 1 of 4 awards given out at the competition. It received an excellence award for being one of the highest ranked films. I hope you enjoy the thought-provoking message my film has to offer.