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Artist of the Year 2023 for film and TV: Magdalena Aparicio

April 30, 2023

Magdalena Aparicio changed her mind several times about what she wanted to be when she grew up.

Elementary school: author. Middle school: painter. High school: photographer.

Dance: Jonah Smith, Orange County School of the Arts
Theater: Selma Elbalalesy, Aliso Niguel High School
Instrumental music: Lucie Kim, Orange County School of the Arts
Vocal music: Adrianna Tapia, Santa Ana High School
Fine Arts: Alexandra Hernandez, Costa Mesa High School
Media arts: Zachary Cramer, Fountain Valley High School

But in her junior year at Yorba Linda High, she took a video production class that most kids at her school sign up for as freshmen. She’s now determined to be a filmmaker — combining all three of her previously imagined careers.

Her teacher and the panel who judged the film submissions of 15 would-be Artists of the Year for Film and TV seem sure she’s got a good shot at her dream.

Look how far she’s come in such a short amount of time.

Last year, Aparicio wrote and directed the film that won Best Music Video at the Orange County Film Festival. Before signing up for the school video production class, she said she had “not even an ounce” of film experience.

This year, for a high school competition that gave students all of 24 hours to create a music video, Aparicio repeated her dual role with the same stellar results — her class won Best Music Video.

Magdalena Aparicio, a senior at Yorba Linda High School, is the 2023 Artist of the Year in film and TV. Magdalena is shown at the Argyros Global Citizens Plaza at Chapman University in Orange on Sunday, April 16, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In his advanced video productions class, teacher Richard Cadra said, “She is very skilled with all of the equipment and software, and she also has wonderfully creative ideas for short films and always comes through with her deadlines.”

Aparicio is a young woman from a family of immigrants, a large household in which she grew up around a dozen family members.

She is anything but traditional and wants to flip the script on film stereotypes.

Consider her award-winning music video from last year, “Portrait of Adolescence: Entre los Dos.” The main character is a teenage girl who is queer, but not one with the all-too-common tragic ending Aparicio said is depicted in films.

“My main character finds pain and insecurity in self discovery, but pushes past it to see that she deserves love,” Aparicio wrote. “I make films for those who don’t really get the spotlight in film and TV. Queer and Hispanic people like me.”

She chose a Spanish-language song as the music for the video so her family could better understand it. Her parents attended the film festival where it debuted. Their reaction was along the lines of “Huh, so that’s what she’s been doing.”

Aparicio, who turns 18 in May, hopes to someday have the kind of signature style that will be recognizable, like that of one of her favorite filmmakers, John Hughes.

“I want somebody to say, ‘That’s a Magdalena Aparicio film.’”

Film and TV finalists

Film and TV is divided into five specialties: cinematography, film directing, promo/commercial making, TV/broadcast journalism, and visual effects and editing. (Due to the small number of nominees in promo/commercial making and TV/broadcast journalism, those specialties were combined this year.) In addition to Artist of the Year, the judges selected finalists in each category.

Winston Verdult of Santa Ana, a senior studying at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, was selected as the finalist in the specialty of cinematography for Artist of the Year in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Suzanne Verdult)

Cinematography: Winston Verdult, 18, senior at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School. In February, Verdult won the YoungArts Gold Medal Award, which came with a $10,000 prize. He’s had to work with limited resources and time, shooting the film he submitted, “When the Clock Strikes,” in one-day, with no crew and the challenge of working around all the reflection from glass items in an antique store. He pulled it off. “You got creative in the space where you were filming,” said Victor Payan, co-founder of the OC Film Fiesta multicultural film festival.

Charlotte Quintanar of San Clemente, a senior studying at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, was selected as the finalist in the specialty of film directing for Artist of the Year in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Renee)

Film directing: Charlotte Quintanar, 17, senior at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School. She was a finalist last year. She is still creating student-oriented explanatory videos that NASA uses on its website to instruct young minds. Last year she made a documentary on bees, “just a summer project” that she shot in Orange County and in England. “I was running around like a maniac, chasing bees around with a camera.” The judges expect to see her work on PBS someday.

Hunaina Hirji of Yorba Linda, a junior studying at Yorba Linda High School, was selected as the finalist in the specialty of promo/commercial making for Artist of the Year in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Ameerah Hirji)

Promo/Commercial Making, and TV/Broadcast Journalism: Hunaina Hirji, 16, junior at Yorba Linda High. She produced a PSA about mental health and anxiety, a subject made personal to her through the struggles of family members and friends. She also made a video message on school finals that had a more lighthearted horror film feel to it. Hirji likes to tell her stories through sound design. If she can’t find the sound she wants, she creates her own. “Once I got into it,” she said, “I couldn’t stop.”

Tyler Hom of Irvine, a senior studying at Beckman High School, was selected as the finalist in the specialty of visual effects and editing for Artist of the Year in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Meena Senapathi)

Visual Effects and Editing: Tyler Hom, 18, senior at Beckman High. He showed the judges a documentary on the making of a musical that his school puts on every few years to involve all its arts students. After three months, Hom ended up with 13 hours of footage to condense into a six-minute film. “Not an easy task,” he said. Hom, who is headed for Boston University, likes to focus on realism. “It’s real people. It’s real stories. I don’t think there’s a better story than a true story.”

Orange County Register

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