My short film 'An Alien's Alien' was shortlisted in the Blue Mountains Youth Film Festival (BMYFF) and therefore was screened at the Edge Cinema in Katoomba on the 20th of October.
My film was about a human who was troubled by a thing that is unknown to the audience. She finds comfort when looking up at the moon and unbeknownst to her, there is an alien on it looking back. The alien finds herself in the same situation as the human and is terribly sad. They never meet but form a connection despite the distance of their homes and give each other the power to carry on.
When creating 'An Alien's Alien' I went through many processes. I have a scrapbook which includes my previous short film 'The Traveller' and in this book I formulated my plan by making an original screenplay, drawing up and storyboard and character design. In 'The Traveller' I discovered that my film crew was too large. This is why I enjoyed making 'An Alien's Alien' because it was solely me and my sister; Siobhan Humphrys. If I couldn't film a particular scene then she would and vice-versa. All the editing was my own but when it came to her make up, (in which I wanted her to have four eyes), my oldest sister Annalisa did the work.
I originally didn't want to act in this short film because I had in done so in my last film and being surrounded by my friends caused me to not take it seriously. This greatly affected certain scenes and the length of my movie. I wanted Siobhan to act as both the alien and the human because I believed it would create a nice theme for the movie such as; "we aren't all so different in the end". But she struggled with learning all the lines in such a short period of time (which was less than a week). She found it so difficult due to the way it was written. Just before creating the screenplay, I read 'Frankenstein', causing the dialogue to be a bit over the top. To halve the work load, I decided to play the human and found my performance was much better with just Siobhan filming.
In the future I want to be a film director and screenplay writer. I am inspired by Tim Burton and Baz Luhrmann and my aim is to work as hard as I can and with any opportunity I can get to become at least a fraction of how successful they are. I'm very thankful that I was chosen in the BMYFF as this has encouraged me to progress with my film making and try get into the top two spots next year.
St Columba's Catholic College Springwood
www.stcolumbasspringwood.catholic.edu.au
-
17 Aug 2026
From Facebook
2026 Academic Showcase Last week, we celebrated something truly special at St Columba’s - students who are curious, passionate and willing to go that little bit further in their learning. Organised by SCCC teachers Stephanie Wilkie and Paul Elias, the Academic Showcase provides students with the space and time to explore a specific topic that captures their interest and to put in that extra 10% of effort. As Steph explains, the Showcase isn’t about perfection - it’s about motivation, passion, curiosity and the love of learning. It’s about giving students the opportunity to engage deeply, try something new and discover the value and reward that comes from learning and trying. We were also incredibly fortunate to welcome Greg Lee (Class of 2006) as our guest speaker. Greg challenged everyone to think about the extra 10%: What can you do today that will take you one step further? He encouraged our students to be passionate about what they do and reminded us of the importance of reflection as a powerful part of our own learning. A huge congratulations to all of our students who participated in the 2026 Academic Showcase. Your curiosity, commitment and willingness to share your learning with others is something to be celebrated. Thank you to Ms Wilkie, Mr Elias and all the other staff involved (and there were lots!) for creating such a wonderful opportunity for our students - and a very special thank you to Greg for returning to St Columba’s and sharing his time, wisdom and experience with our community. Because sometimes, it’s that extra 10% that makes all the difference. #StColumbas #AcademicShowcase #LoveOfLearning #Extra10Percent Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
14 Aug 2026
From Facebook
HSC Major Works Showcase 2026 It’s time to celebrate the incredible creativity, imagination and hard work of our HSC students! We warmly invite our families to come along to the St Columba’s HSC Major Works Showcase and experience the outstanding work our students have created across Visual Arts, Music, Drama, Society & Culture, Industrial Technology Timber, Textiles & Design, English Extension 2, Design & Technology, History Extension and Science Extension. Across two incredible nights: 🗓️ Tuesday 18 August | 4.00–6.30pm Drama Rec Theatre | 5.00–6.30pm Textiles & Design, Ngurra | 4.00–5.00pm 🗓️ Tuesday 1 September | 4.00–7.30pm Exhibitions, Ngurra | 4.00–6.00pm featuring Design & Technology, Industrial Technology Timber, Visual Arts, Society & Culture, English Extension 2, Science Extension and History Extension and Music Rec Theatre | 6.00–7.30pm Come along, explore the work and, most importantly, celebrate the remarkable achievements of our students. We’d love to see our St Columba’s families there!
Latest News More news
17 Aug 2026
From Facebook
2026 Academic Showcase Last week, we celebrated something truly special at St Columba’s - students who are curious, passionate and willing to go that little bit further in their learning. Organised by SCCC teachers Stephanie Wilkie and Paul Elias, the Academic Showcase provides students with the space and time to explore a specific topic that captures their interest and to put in that extra 10% of effort. As Steph explains, the Showcase isn’t about perfection - it’s about motivation, passion, curiosity and the love of learning. It’s about giving students the opportunity to engage deeply, try something new and discover the value and reward that comes from learning and trying. We were also incredibly fortunate to welcome Greg Lee (Class of 2006) as our guest speaker. Greg challenged everyone to think about the extra 10%: What can you do today that will take you one step further? He encouraged our students to be passionate about what they do and reminded us of the importance of reflection as a powerful part of our own learning. A huge congratulations to all of our students who participated in the 2026 Academic Showcase. Your curiosity, commitment and willingness to share your learning with others is something to be celebrated. Thank you to Ms Wilkie, Mr Elias and all the other staff involved (and there were lots!) for creating such a wonderful opportunity for our students - and a very special thank you to Greg for returning to St Columba’s and sharing his time, wisdom and experience with our community. Because sometimes, it’s that extra 10% that makes all the difference. #StColumbas #AcademicShowcase #LoveOfLearning #Extra10Percent Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
14 Aug 2026
From Facebook
HSC Major Works Showcase 2026 It’s time to celebrate the incredible creativity, imagination and hard work of our HSC students! We warmly invite our families to come along to the St Columba’s HSC Major Works Showcase and experience the outstanding work our students have created across Visual Arts, Music, Drama, Society & Culture, Industrial Technology Timber, Textiles & Design, English Extension 2, Design & Technology, History Extension and Science Extension. Across two incredible nights: 🗓️ Tuesday 18 August | 4.00–6.30pm Drama Rec Theatre | 5.00–6.30pm Textiles & Design, Ngurra | 4.00–5.00pm 🗓️ Tuesday 1 September | 4.00–7.30pm Exhibitions, Ngurra | 4.00–6.00pm featuring Design & Technology, Industrial Technology Timber, Visual Arts, Society & Culture, English Extension 2, Science Extension and History Extension and Music Rec Theatre | 6.00–7.30pm Come along, explore the work and, most importantly, celebrate the remarkable achievements of our students. We’d love to see our St Columba’s families there!
12 Aug 2026
From Facebook
From exchange student to German national champion! Congratulations to Year 10 student Douglas Pentecost, who has returned from his school exchange in Germany with rather more than improved language skills! While in Germany, Douglas took up the challenge of competing in the U16 German National Athletics Championships — and came away with GOLD in the discus with a phenomenal throw of 61.02m! Not a bad way to spend an exchange… go overseas to practise your German and come home a national champion! We are incredibly proud of you, Douglas. What an achievement! 🇩🇪 🥇 Blue Mountains Gazette Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
08 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Our Engineering Club are enjoying an equipment upgrade - from toaster ovens and sandwich presses to a you beaut, state-of-the-art heat press - all thanks to the Western Sydney International Airport Soaring Scholarship that we were awarded earlier this year. The club members are busily turning waste into useful objects, keeping plastic out of landfill and giving it a second life. They have already built a shredder using the guide from Precious Plastic Community and prototyped coasters and guitar picks. Now with the heat press they are moving onto bigger products like clipboards. Families can keep waste out of landfill and support the Engineering Club by donating HDPE 2 plastic lids. FOR SAFETY, all lids must be washed and dried and can only be HDPE 2 (look for the 2 inside the triangle). Lids can be dropped off in the box in Nicky's office in the library. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
08 Aug 2026
From Facebook
It's late Friday afternoon and Andrew has found the perfect vantage point to contemplate the weekend ahead. #doesnteveryschoolhaveitsownpeacock
08 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations Jenna! First the gold and now the bronze! Outstanding! 🥇Gold 100m Freestyle s13 🥉Bronze 50m Freestyle S13 #jennawinsgold #jennawinsbronze Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games Australia
08 Aug 2026
From Facebook
We are incredibly proud to announce that our 2026 Book Week celebrations raised $4,396.06 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) — our biggest Book Week donation ever! The total was made possible through the wonderful generosity of our students, families and staff, who supported our Book Week costumes, picnic lunch, cake stall, Poem Apothecary and second-hand book stall. Every dollar raised will help support the incredible work of the ILF, bringing books, learning resources and literacy programs to children and communities across remote Australia. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a charity that is particularly close to our hearts at St Columba’s. Supporting literacy, celebrating First Nations stories and languages, and helping children develop a lifelong love of reading are values that strongly resonate with our College community. A huge thank you to everyone who helped us reach this incredible total. What a wonderful way to celebrate Book Week — by helping share the joy and power of books with children and communities across Australia. If you’d like to learn more about the important work of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, we encourage you to visit their website: www.ilf.org.au
05 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to Amelia (Y10) on her outstanding performance at the 2026 The Horse Den State Interschools Championships during the school holidays. In a very competitive field, Amelia and her pony Ajah finished 7th in the 1.1 dressage and first in the 1.2 dressage. The St Columba's community is very proud of Amelia's wonderful achievement!
05 Aug 2026
From Facebook
We love welcoming our alumni back to the College! Sebastian Andrews (College Captain - Class of 2023) called in today to see the new buildings and catch up with some of his former teachers. He agreed that the new buildings were 'just a little bit better' than the demountables that he learned in while he was a student here. Thanks for stopping by Sebastian, it was great to see you.
04 Aug 2026
From Facebook
On Friday 31 July students from Years 7-11 participated in the annual Write a Book in a Day competition. In year group teams, students worked together between 8am and 6pm to conceptualise, write, illustrate and publish a book for young Australians aged between 10 and 16. In addition to publishing a book, the competition also requires students to raise funds for the Kids’ Cancer Project. Their finished books are distributed in children’s hospitals across Australia. It was an enjoyable challenge for our students, who enjoyed collaborating to produce engaging stories and interesting illustrations. Congratulations to everyone involved!
03 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Celebrating excellence, leadership and the bright future of St Columba's. On Wednesday morning, our College community came together for our Semester 1 Academic Awards and Leadership Commissioning, with more than 280 parents joining us to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students. Students were recognised for their commitment to learning through the presentation of Academic Awards, along with Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards, acknowledging their dedication, perseverance and pursuit of excellence throughout the semester. The ceremony also marked an exciting milestone as we officially commissioned our new Student Leadership Team. It was a proud moment to present each of our student leaders with their leadership badge, while our 2027 College Captains, Mieke Watson and Lachlan Billiards, and Vice Captains, Lily Boersma and Beckett Kearns, received their College blazers. Congratulations to every student recognised on the day. We are incredibly proud of your achievements and look forward to seeing our new student leaders inspire and serve our College community in the year ahead. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
03 Aug 2026
From Facebook
As part of the College's support for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal, students from Years 7–12 took part in a Winter Stay-Out event. Through experiential learning, faith in action, and community spirit, students deepened their understanding of homelessness and poverty during an evening of challenges, reflection, and a powerful talk from Vinnies NSW Kim Crawford. A huge thank you to all the St Columba's families who contributed to our Winter Woolies Drive - your generosity has helped keep many people in our community warm this winter. 🧣❄️ #faithinactioncspd #winterappeal #socialjustice #vinniesNSW Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese