Filmmakers from Weber Middle School scored the top prize in a public service announcement contest.
The prize featured a $10,000 check for the school, as well a visit this week from “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan.
Aimed to raise awareness about adopting shelter pets, the contest was sponsored by the Cesar Millan Foundation, and North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington.
Nine seventh grade students, along with technology teachers Daniel Ciccone and Tom Stepanek, put together the award winning film, “Everybody Needs a Friend.”
The two-minute film tells the story of a boy who has trouble fitting in at school but finally discovers happiness when he connects with a dog that has no home.
“I never thought it would turn into something this big,” Steven Russo, the seventh-grade star of the film, told the Daily News.
Weber School winners attended a gala Monday evening at the Waldorf Astoria for its annual DogCatemy Mutt-i-grees Rescue Awards, which featured some of the rescued animals that will be up for adoption.
Earlier on Monday, Millan visited Weber, delivering the $10,000 check for the film, which took first prize among 32 other entries.
The school will launch a video program for Weber students with the funds. No stranger to film, Weber Middle School students have in the past also hosted an independent film festival that helps to raise awareness of social issues.
