State video honor earns Henry Ford II graduate a film scholarship

Henry Ford II High School senior Aric Prebelich received a $15,000 full scholarship to the Motion Picture Institute in Troy, MI after earning the top honor in a statewide film competition.

Aric Prebelich earned the “Best of Show” award in the Digital Arts, Film & Television (DAFT) 47th annual student film festival competition for his two-minute video, Ornaments. View the film on Prebelich’s Vimeo site: https://vimeo.com/115682745

Prebelich, who graduated this June was a three-year film student at Henry Ford II High School. His teacher is Fine Arts instructor Joseph Elliott.

He was a director of HFII TV News - a bimonthly television program - and has earned honors at the annual DAFT competitions, 10th Congressional District art show for graphic design and the Scholastic Arts competition.

The main goal of DAFT’s Michigan Student Film Festival is to provide encouragement and support to young people who are already creating media by acknowledging their efforts, rewarding their finest accomplishments and offering opportunities for study and advancement.

Each entry is reviewed by educational and media professionals and their feedback is sent to the student filmmakers to prompt growth and reflection on their film-making skills and approach.

UCS students earned nearly 40 honors in the DAFT competition this year. All films were screened at an invitation-only “Filmmaker’s Evening” in June at the Emagine Theatre of Macomb, sponsored by Emagine Entertainment and Utica Community Schools.