Mastbaum High School wins prize for sports documentary produced by students
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia high school won a cash prize for a sports documentary that was produced by students. The documentary is about a young baseball player who overcame a series of challenges before graduation.
"Breaking the Cycle" is a Mastbaum High School film starring Angelo Fernandez.
Fernandez is a senior at Mastbaum and is in welding and plumbing. He's also a star baseball player and his newest title is teen father.
"I was worried about how I was going to handle it all between sports, school and raising him," Fernandez said, "not knowing if I'd be good enough as a father."
The short sports documentary was directed by Hector Rios.
"We all had certain parts," Rios said, "but we all ended up helping each other out."
Rios says Fernandez's story is one of hope and triumph.
"You can be a teen parent and a student at the same time," Rios said.
The film was written, shot and edited by students inside Nic Justice's film and video class.
"They gave us 15 school days to create a sports documentary to their theme," Justice said, "which was defining the odds."
The students then submitted the film to the third annual NFL Films High School Festival, where they competed with other schools in the tri-state area.
For support, the students were greeted by a familiar face, Philadelphia Eagles mascot Swoop.
It wasn't long before Rios and his classmates would be named award-winning filmmakers.
"I almost cried watching it," Fernandez said.
They came in second place and were given a check for $5,000 for telling Fernandez's story.
"You don't see a lot of teen fathers actually stepping up, and if they do step up, they drop out," Fernandez said. "I don't actually don't regret anything. Having my son changed my whole life. For the better."
