He smashes the lightsaber against his opponent’s. Sparks fly through the air as they clash repeatedly. They toss their arms until the heaviness of their breathing signifies a draw. Senior Alfonso Hollingsworth taps his toes rapidly against the floor, watching how the magic of editing transformed him from a boy flying through the air with a stick, to a fighting Jedi.

“It felt like you’re actually in the movie,” Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth began an internship working on the set of the new Star Wars movie at Skywalker Ranch. His job there is to ensure every camera function is working properly, he said.

“Everyone has to just focus on their part,” Hollingsworth said. “If you try to do more than one task at a time, it’s kind of a disaster.”

Hollingsworth became interested in film after taking the middle school film class. Over this past summer, he went to an eight week film camp at the University of Southern California, Hollingsworth said.

“[The camp] was an introduction into everything filmmaking,” Hollingsworth said.

In the camp, Hollingsworth’s found a community of diverse people and then watched that community come together to produce a film, he said.

“I just discovered myself over there,” Hollingsworth said. “It’s my happy place.”

Hollingsworth said that the camp taught him how to perform necessary skills in the movie industry.

“We learned about the community itself, what the proper procedures are, how to hold auditions, all that stuff they have to do before they even start shooting,” Hollingsworth said.

Over the summer, director and cameraman Angelo Pacifici became a one of Hollingsworth’s mentors, Hollingsworth said.

“[Pacifici] had this sparkle in his eye when you did something right, and it was just so inspiring,” Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth’s roommate at the camp, Tomek Pero, said that Hollingsworth would be a great addition to the film community because of his passion for filmmaking.

“[At the camp], he was putting in a lot of work both while filming and then editing,” Pero said. “The few times I helped him film, he was great at leading the shoot. He also was helping others a lot.”

At the end of the camp, the leaders chose three out of the 150 films created in the eight weeks to screen in front of parents and teachers. Hollingsworth submitted two of his films and both were chosen for the screening, he said.

“It was in this giant theater and they had Oscar trophies on both sides of it,” Hollingsworth said. “You got to learn what it’s like to do film professionally.”

Hollingsworth said that his biggest takeaway from the camp was that film is not something that is done alone, it takes a team of people who have similar interests and different ideas.

“Everyone brings their own ideas and personalities to the screen, which makes a film functional,” Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth said that what helps him capture his idea of the world through film is being a part of more than one culture, and therefore, being able to see the world from multiple perspectives.

“I think what makes a good film is taking a perspective and giving a new take on it, making it a common perspective,” Hollingsworth said. “It really captures people and makes them think when you show them something that they haven’t seen before.”

Hollingsworth said that a big inspiration for him in his filmmaking is the uprise in Mexican directors like Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro.

“I’m Mexican, and these Mexican directors are doing all this awesome stuff, so I feel like I should be able to do that too,” Hollingsworth said. “You should just keep doing what you like to do. If you get famous for it, it’s awesome. If not, just keep doing it. Eventually, the world will catch up.”

Just like these directors, Hollingsworth has a directing style unique to him, he said.

“My style would probably be something that goes below the surface,” Hollingsworth said. “You would take an idea, and go really deep into it in a way that people don’t normally think of.”

Senior Julian Lopez-Cortez said that Hollingsworth is very knowledgeable when it comes to capturing ideas through film.

“I think his intelligence will take him a long way in film,” Lopez-Cortez said. “He’s very creative. I think he’ll very be successful.”

A passion that has helped Hollingsworth overall with his state of mind is scuba diving, he said.

“When I go diving, I discover this peace within myself,” Hollingsworth said. “The ocean is this very turbulent place that looks really nasty sometimes on the top. But if you go down, it’s just completely peaceful. There’s no waves, you’re weightless and you’re just floating there.”

Hollingsworth said that the skills he has learned in diving have benefited with with filmmaking.

“It completely changed me as a person,” Hollingsworth said. “It made me a much calmer person, I used to be very anxious. If you freak out down there, you die, so you really have to learn how to have a lot of discipline.”