From Snyder to Hollywood: Snyder HS student gains international fame for short film

SNYDER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Snyder High School senior Kyle Beights is taking a UIL short film to the next level of competition by winning awards at national and global film festivals.

The city of Snyder could yet again be seeing one of its residents experience fame on the big screen. With famous actors like Barry Tubb, Kevin Alejandro, and Powers Boothe all hailing from this small West Texas town, Kyle Beights may soon be joining them. While most high school seniors are likely filled with stress, thoughts on finals, and anticipation for the end of their high school career, Kyle is filling the last of his high school day with excitement in waiting to see what award he will win next. As a high school senior, Kyle created a completely computer-animated short film called “I Remember” based on his own life, and it focuses on the experiences and challenges many face as they grow into adulthood.

“I really wanted to tell a story of not really knowing,” said Kyle. “I feel like people tell you it’s going to be okay, but sometimes, what if it isn’t? I really wanted to touch on those feelings.”

Kyle’s film was initially meant as a UIL project that eventually led him to reach the state finals. There, Kyle took fifth place for his film, and while Kyle says that he respects his competition, he admitted that he expected more when it came to his ranking.

Kyle found encouragement to take his film even further from his Theater & AV Productions Director, Corey Knipe. Knipe encouraged Kyle to submit his short film to several film festivals.

“Kyle came to me with his film, and I was totally blown away by it. There are moments within this animation that I question, ‘Is this real? Did he shoot this, or is it animated?’ It is, in fact, all animated. He looks at what no one else is doing and then says, I’m going to do that. And he does it and he does it well,” Knipe praised.

So far, Kyle’s film has received awards for winning the New York East End Film Festival, Best Director from the Istanbul Turkish Film Festival, and even a silver Telly award, which honors excellence in video and television across all screens. While the hits keep rolling in for Kyle, he is especially excited about an upcoming film festival in which his short film will be featured, which could help propel him to Hollywood.

“Getting accepted into the Dead Center Film Festival, which is Oklahoma’s largest film festival. It’s an Oscar-qualifying film festival, which means if you win some of their categories, you can then be eligible to win an Oscar. It’s essentially making like semifinals in the Oscars,” Kyle shared.

Kyle Beights now plans to attend Texas Tech University, where he will study film and business. He wants to achieve his ultimate dream of owning his own production company.