Adapted for El Cid from a press release by Maria Thompson

The Medallion of Man, a feature film created last summer by a group of Cathedral Catholic students, previewed  on August fifteenth at La Paloma Theater.  The film was headed by junior Matt Thompson, a student of multimedia teacher Mr. Ryan Andrzejewski.

Director Thompson and crew combined their talents and a four hundred dollar budget into a story that surrounds the humorous situation of a teenage boy whose luck leads him to a powerful medallion.  The film’s message is to be yourself in order to find true love.

The crew included Cathedral juniors and seniors, incoming college freshmen, and other college students.  Cathedral senior Michael Mahady, star of last year’s school musical, The Wedding Singer, showcased his acting on-camera for the first time as the film’s lead.  “I thought screen acting would be easier, but I was proved wrong,” he said.  “The camera picks up every single thing you do and everything has to be consistent, or it messes up the entire scene.”

Brothers Adam and Luke Whitmarsh, Cathedral juniors, lent their talents to the technical aspects and production of the movie.  Luke was the audio technician while Adam created digital effects.  With the help of their father, the boys supervised construction of several sets.

Thompson credits taking a multimedia course at Cathedral for helping him learn the technical aspects of the movie-making process.  Mr. Andrzejewski served as The Medallion of Man’s executive producer.  He was also a supervisor and held an acting role in the film.  He said, “This feature film will be the catalyst for many of these artists, launching them into film schools and providing a source for their creative outlets in the future.”

San Francisco State University freshman and costume design major Marly Hall designed the film’s costumes and acted in a lead actress role.  She said, “Knowledge is nothing without application and experience…working on the set of The Medallion of Man gave everyone a chance to gain experience in all aspects of film.”

Cathedral graduate Nick Smoldon, a sophomore at Gonzaga University, drew upon his knowledge of music composition to compose the score for the film.  He said, “Writing a score has been a big job for me and has given me excellent insight into the requirements of a first year music composition major; I am thankful for the opportunity.”

Christopher Rosa, who is pursuing a career in graphic design, created the film’s graphics.

Thompson said, “When I was young, my dad and I would watch movies almost all day long… watching so many movies led me to realize how much of an impact they had on my life, in the stories they displayed and in the lessons they told.”

Last year, a friend of Thompson got him a Steven Spielberg autograph and showed the famous director one of his videos.  Thompson said, “He told me in the autograph ‘keep making those videos’ – and so I am.”
During the final editing of the film, Thompson said, “My goal was to not only utilize my own talents, but the talents of so many other artists and passionate people to put out a great product, and I believe we have done that. Hopefully, all of our efforts will be reflected on the screen.”

Check the El Cid site for information on a future local screening of The Medallion of Man.