San Ramon Valley Teen Filmmakers Honored for Street Smarts 'Be Reel' Video Contest

Twenty-one aspiring filmmakers from San Ramon Valley middle schools had their films premiered on Thursday, May 15, at the 9th Annual Street Smarts “Be Reel!” Video Contest Premiere and Awards Ceremony. Two students from Gale Ranch Middle School walked away with the first place prize, while a team of three from Windemere Ranch Middle School came in second place.

The “Be Reel” Video Contest encourages middle school students to work in teams of up to four students to create 60-second public service announcement videos on a traffic safety theme. The fall theme was “Teach Your Parents to Be Street Smart,” and the spring theme was “Sidewalk and Crosswalk Safety.” Street Smarts received 56 video submissions from 147 students this school year. Of the 56 videos submitted, 10 were chosen as finalists.

On Thursday, May 15, the 10 finalist videos were premiered at the Danville Village Theatre. Danville Mayor Robert Storer emceed the event, with the help of San Ramon Mayor Bill Clarkson, Contra Costa County Supervisor Candace Andersen, and San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board President Rachel Hurd. The filmmakers, after watching their videos with the rest of the audience, were invited on stage to answer questions about their work. Then the first and second place videos were announced.

The first place video, “A Distracted Dad’s Driving,” was created by Sanil Baweja and Neeraj Sathe of Gale Ranch Middle School. Their video used humor to show how dangerous it is when parents are distracted while driving their children to school. The dad in the video was shaving, talking on the phone, and even brushing his teeth while driving. The second place award went to a video called “Street Smartz: Crossing the Street” by Carter Phan, Ayush Kumar, and Keshav Raghu of Windemere Ranch Middle School. These students created a compelling rap song for their video, which illustrated the dangers of crossing the street while distracted. 

The first and second place winners walked away with the pride of making a video that will positively impact others, along with a cash prize: each member of the first place team won a $100 Visa gift card, and each second place team member received a $50 Visa gift card. All the finalists’ videos, including the first and second place winners, will be aired on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) on Friday, May 30 at 7:00 pm and on Saturday, May 31 at 10:30 am and 7:00 pm. 

In addition, the first place video will be shown on CCTV throughout the year as a public service announcement. Links to all the finalist videos can be found on the Street Smarts website at http://www.street-smarts.com/programs/video_contest.htm.

The “Be Reel” Video Contest is just one of the many programs offered by Street Smarts, a traffic safety education program serving the San Ramon Valley. Funded in part by a federal Safe Routes to School grant, Street Smarts is a collaborative effort by the City of San Ramon, the Town of Danville, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, and the County of Contra Costa. 

Each year, the program holds contests, presentations, and hands-on activities at elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in the San Ramon Valley. The program’s mission is to change driver, bicyclist, and pedestrian behavior. For more information, visit www.street-smarts.com.

—Information provided by the Street Smarts Program