Sometime by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, a short film will be released. However, it won’t be your typical film. The production, titled “Awkward,” is directed and produced by sophomore Sam Kim, and features seniors Dave Guo and Sara Yin and junior Natalia Trevino Amaro.

“The movie…is pretty much about relationships in high school,” Kim said. “It’s based off of a awkward conversation I had with a girl.”

According to Kim, the film is about a socially awkward boy named Kevin who tries to talk to his love interest. After a cringe-worthy conversation, he realizes being in a relationship isn’t really important, especially in high school.

“I’ve always wanted to make a movie, like a romantic comedy,” Kim said. “Before I had that conversation, I would make stuff up and the story would be unnatural. I had that one conversation and everything clicked.”

Kim said ever since middle school, he has wanted to make movies.

“In eighth grade, I did a stop-motion movie, and I realized how much I loved it,” Kim said. “Every day, I would stay up until 4 (a.m.)”

According to Lance Duerfahrd, director of the Film and Video Studies Program at Purdue University, dedication is important to movie making.

“The time you spend creating your movie is the best use of your time and is a million times more gratifying than playing video games,” Duerfahrd said via email.

Kim said he is passionate about movie-making but also admits there were some problems with scheduling.

Despite challenges, Kim said the production process has been an eye-opening experience.

“I’ve got a chance to meet people who I never would have met before,” Kim said. “I really got out of my comfort zone, reaching out to several people that I don’t even know.”

Guo, said he agreed that being in a film was a new experience.

“I kind of wanted to test myself and step out of my comfort zone for once,” Guo said. “I think it opened me up to challenges, and I’m a little bit more familiar to the movie-making process.”

According to Kim, “Awkward” will be promoted via social media and released on his YouTube account, Sam Kim Productions. Kim said he also plans to enter the film into competitions, like the Heartland Film Festival in Indiana. However, Kim said he has a greater overall motivation.

“(I do it) to get experience, because I want to be a director when I grow up,” Kim said. “It’s good to have personal experience, rather than learning in a class. (While) it’s helpful to learn essentials to filmmaking in class, it’s better to have personal experience.”