By BARBARA GREEN
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Nocona High School film continues to dominate its division in the state University Interscholastic League Young Filmmakers Festival taking three films to the state finals vying for a gold medal.
The film team travels to Austin on Feb. 28 for the festival where young filmmakers from across the state will compete in their respective divisions. Nocona was the only school in the 1A-3A division to advance three entries to the finals.
This is the program’s seventh year in a row to place in the top student films and the eighth year to make the state finals. In 2023 NHS won the gold medal with the narrative film, “I Will Rise.”
Last year the schools’ other narrative entry, “Prodito,” made it to the semi-finals for the top 12 films in the state.
Nocona has won two gold medals in 2018 and 2020 for traditional animation. One of its films also was a State Nobelity finalist with its traditional animation film “Humanity.”
Nocona has been on the verge of the first place medal for several years in the narrative category taking a second, third and fourth place finish.
Film teacher Rob Norman called last year’s win “a milestone in the Nocona film program’s legacy,” a goal they had been seeking since they started the program.
This year’s films are “Anhedonia” and “Beyond the Glass Eyes,” both narratives, and the animation entry, “The Legendary Nut.”
The teacher is quick to tell everyone judging in this contest is so subjective and difficult in many ways, so they have no expectations other than to hope for one to go through. He also began the year with virtually all new students.

Read the full feature in the mid-week Bowie News.