Teens’ anti-smoking film now on silver screen – Jun 19, 2008
By Ian B. Murphy/Staff Writer of Lexington Minuteman
An anti-smoking short film created by two Lexington students will be shown at the Burlington 10 Theater in Burlington through next month.

The honor was given to Alina Liu and Ginger Willinger after they placed second in a statewide competition.

The pair created their 30-second short, “Smoking Never Wins, Don’t Lose the Race,” for a TV production class taught by Mary Pappas at Lexington High School. Liu and Willinger filmed a race between an apple, a cigarette, and a pencil, each with their own cheering sections. Naturally, the cigarette finished last. [ View it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=608FU5kYqqI ].

“[Mrs. Pappas] basically gave us all an assignment to make an anti-smoking PSA short, and [said] she was going to send it into the competition,” Liu said.

Pappas sent all the entries to the “Getting Real on Reel” competition, sponsored by Mass Youth Against Tobacco at the Medical Foundation. Brittney Chen, the project associate for Mass Youth Against Tobacco, said 450 participants entered 125 videos.

“I think the youth that participated showed an enormous amount of creativity and ingenuity in how to get their message across to other youth,” Chen said.

From that pool, Liu and Willinger finished second.

“There were so many people entering the contest, it was like ‘Whoa, we actually won something,’” Liu said.

For placing second, Liu and Willinger’s public service announcement will be shown in the Burlington 10 Theater on South Avenue before the movie previews until Thursday, July 10.

“[Liu] and [Willinger] had a really creative approach,” said Chen. “It was a fun spin on the idea that using tobacco never wins.”
The grand-prize winning short, “Your Most Difficult Breath May Be Your Last,” was created by Sociedad Latina of Roxbury, and will be aired on WCVB-TV Channel 5 during June, as well as movie theaters around the state. There was also a $250 cash prize.