WCC students enter fray at film festival

Henry Sincic | Contributor 

A group of WCC students got together in mid-April to make a short film for the Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti (iFFY), a community-driven film festival held in Ypsilanti. The festival, which just celebrated its sixth season, was held from Thursday, April 17, through Saturday, April 19. It featured numerous screenings, workshops and other activities with a bent on celebrating local, independent filmmaking. 

One of the many events that the festival is known for is the 26.2-Hour Filmmaking Marathon, in which groups of filmmakers, professional and amateur alike, are given 26.2 hours to create and submit a short film, up to 4 minutes long, of their own to the festival for eventual screening. The team that submits the best short film (as deemed by the festival) can win a $250 cash prize. This year, the filmmaking marathon was held from 10 a.m., Saturday, April 12, to 12:12 p.m., Sunday, April 13, and a group of 10, including eight WCC students and one WTMC student, were in the mix.

Operating under the name “Reel Chaos,” the principal members of the group were strangers to each other until only just recently. Janelle Rocetes, a 23-year-old digital media arts major, was up late one night, unable to get to sleep, when an Instagram ad for the iFFY marathon caught her eye.

“I looked it up, and I thought, ‘I’m already having such a fun time doing the VID 105 class,’ but I was always intimidated doing the film festivals, because I have no experience,” said Rocetes. “Seeing that everyone has this great equalizer, having only 26.2 hours to create something, I thought, ‘I could do something there.”

The next morning, in class, Rocetes asked a fellow student and digital media arts major, 22-year-old June Tyson, who she knew to have an interest in directing, if she would like to join her in attempting the 26.2-hour challenge. Tyson, who operates professionally under the name June Langley (partly the result of a past desire to be a psychedelic rock artist), quickly agreed and, before long, the pair had managed to get six other classmates (Jade Guerriero, Lizzie Pantolin, Kasey Gitzen, Dylan Orsolini, Serge Gregory and eventual lead actor Eliot Dimcheff) to join their project. Ben Burrell, a filmmaking alumnus of Florida State University, and AJ Landingham, a WTMC student who was one of the main actors of the honorable mention film of the previous year’s 26.2-hour competition, “Benson’s Big Day Out.”

Showing up bright and early on the morning of the 12th at Ypsilanti’s Riverside Art Center, the pedigreed film crew was prompted on the visual and creative elements that needed to be included in their short film. Still, each team of participants had the final say over the overall story and direction of their project. Tyson was one of the writers and helped to create the concept of “Johnny’s Wishing Wrong,” in which a down-on-his-luck man, the titular Johnny, runs into a genie who offers him three wishes. 

Until recently, Tyson hadn’t been interested in becoming a film director. She’d always had a creative streak and had a penchant for consuming media. It wasn’t until this semester, when she took an introductory video class at WCC, that something awoke in her. 

“I’ve always been a very big fan of TV shows and video games; I grew up on them … so it’s always kind of been in me,” Tyson said. 

Now, she sees herself transferring to the University of Michigan for Humanities and Film. She would like to become a major film director, either inside or outside of Hollywood, possibly dabbling in some screenwriting as well.

The end result, “Johnny’s Wishing Wrong,” which can be viewed on the YouTube channel “Reel Chaos Productions,” is a charming work and an impressive feat considering the short amount of time it needed to be put together. The film has a distinct sense of humor. The genie, case in point, doesn’t much resemble the magical genies of legend, but rather a man-bunned, millennial “piece of crap”, as Tyson terms him. There are humorous moments littered throughout the film, which are evident shortly after the two main characters meet:

Johnny: “It’s kind of iffy. I mean, don’t genies normally come out of lamps, or something?” 

Genie:  “We used to, mostly burning incense. Nowadays, we mostly burn tobacco. The recession hit us pretty hard, too, you know?” 

Despite the silliness, there are meant to be meaningful takeaways in the film.

“For … a lot of the work that I try to make, it’s all very much about trying to embrace life for what it is, rather than trying to avoid a real life and its flaws,” Tyson said. Johnny wants his life to change, and he tries to wish away his problems, only to realize that he is only avoiding his problems by doing so.

While Reel Chaos is true to its name in that there isn’t a very established hierarchy of personnel, everyone contributes their share. 

“Every step of the way, I feel like a lot of people gave their 100%, which I loved,” said Rocetes. “No one was like, ‘I’m so disappointed I didn’t get to act.’ Everyone was just so happy to be there.” 

Between Tyson and Rocetes, there are hopes that Reel Chaos could come together for future projects.

If you’re interested in joining Reel Chaos Productions with your skills, whether as an actor, graphic designer, or would like another role, email jtyson@wccnet.edu.

Editor’s note: On May 14, 2025, the photo byline for this article was updated to provide an accurate attribution.

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