Saint Helena’s Cameo Cinema Encourages 14-Year-Old Ava Doak to Pursue a Film Career | Lifestyles

The first one, when she was 10, was called “The Emerald”, about a girl who finds a magical gem that brings her luck but decides to use it on behalf of other people.
Doak wrote, directed, edited and starred in the film, which features special green screen effects. He won first prize in the elementary category.
Doak’s next film, âFountain Thieves,â was about three people diving into a fountain and collecting coins. Like “The Emerald” it had a magical twist and a positive message about selflessness. Much like “The Emerald”, he won first prize in his age group.
His third entry, âPerfection,â was a horror / techno thriller about a clothing store with a sinister secret. With themes of materialism, technology and instant gratification, he again won the top prize in the college category.
âThe Boxâ is only three minutes long and quiet, but it’s Doak’s most ambitious project to date, with an 18-year cast and a hectic week-long production run. Although she was among the youngsters in the 13-19 age group of the competition, she won.
She said that she owed this achievement to the Cameo “for giving me the inspiration to continue with the film”.
While attending Tribeca, she and the other two winners worked on a short documentary about the festival. She also took the time to visit some of the filming locations featured in “In the Heights”.