$7,500 in prizes have been awarded to teen filmmakers, with the grand-prize winning film set to air in local movie theaters.

The City of Santa Clarita, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and William S. Hart Union School District, announced the winners of the “Heads Up” Video Contest Friday.

The contest was open exclusively to Santa Clarita Valley middle and high school students, and was designed to create peer-to-peer messaging on the topic of distracted driving.

Students were asked to come up with creative and engaging 30-60 second Public Service Announcement videos that would inspire fellow Santa Clarita teens to drive distraction-free and help keep roads safe.

Gift cards from B&H, the largest online electronics retailer, are set to be given as prizes, and the first place winner is also set to have their Public Service Announcement played during ‘First Look’ at movie theaters in Santa Clarita. The winners for the contest were:

• First Place – A team effort from Kaitlyn Weir and Dylan Santa Cruz from Valencia High School
• Second Place – Francisco G. Simplicio from Canyon High School
• Third Place – A partnership of Joel Yoon, Josh Orris, Max Lin, Hannah Sullivan, Riley Flynn, Lucas Elzer and Brian No from West Ranch High School

First place winners are set to receive a $5,000 B&H gift card along with their video being screened during ‘First Look’ at theaters in Santa Clarita. Second place winners are set to receive a $2,000 B&H gift card and third place winners are set to receive a $500 B&H gift card. The prize money is intended to help these young filmmakers acquire new video making technology to keep their creativity going.

The contest was part of Santa Clarita’s larger “Heads Up” campaign to combat unsafe behaviors for both drivers and pedestrians. City staff received and meticulously reviewed 32 submissions from students throughout the William S. Hart Union School District. Santa Clarita encourages residents to be a part of a cohesive community effort to change the culture around distracted driving to keep our City safe.

For more information on the “Heads Up” Campaign, click here.

Ed. Note: This above information was provided to KHTS by the City of Santa Clarita.

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