When Sasha Vogel ’21 sat down to write the script for “Capsule,” her short film about a girl reliving her memories through a photograph, her mind was bursting with possibilities. As she wrote the script, the film quickly came to life with the help of actresses Asia Fuqua ’21 and Lilia Buckingham and cinematographer and Chronicle Digital Managing Editor Kyle Reims ’21. Vogel said her experience working on the film was exhilarating and rewarding.

“I wrote the script almost all in one sitting in a spurt of inspiration and then reached out to a bunch of my friends to help me out,” Vogel said. “The cast and crew was made up of good friends of mine, which I hadn’t experienced on a film set before, and a wonderful, vibrant energy came with that. My experience working on it was honestly just fun and experimenting to see what I could do when I really applied myself.”

Vogel began creating films in middle school and said she quickly gained an appreciation for the art. Vogel is a festival director for Westflix, a yearly student-run film festival for California teenagers hosted by the school. Vogel’s short film “Capsule” was one of the 14 final films chosen from over 150 submissions to be presented as part of the program.

Vogel said she always knew she wanted to be a storyteller but was initially unsure of what medium to pursue.

“I used to think I wanted to be an author, but I took my first film class in middle school and immediately knew that this was it for me,” Vogel said. “Movies have always affected me very strongly, and I was honestly terrified of them for a while. But when I got to experience the other side of it, I fell in love with the concept of visual storytelling and making others feel things as strongly as I did through filmmaking.”

Vogel said she takes inspiration from all aspects of her daily life and especially interactions with her friends and teachers.

“My friends, or various versions of them, will often show up as characters in my scripts, as well as teachers and administrators who have had a strong effect on me,” Vogel said. “My current video art teacher, [Visual Arts Teacher Reb Limerick], also has inspired me a lot by encouraging me to draw outside of the metaphorical lines a little bit and experiment with ideas and concepts I hadn’t previously had the courage to.”

Vogel said that working with friends on her film projects is extremely enjoyable and that she enjoys brainstorming different ideas with them.

“The most special part about my artistic experience has probably been the incredible connections I’ve made with others through filmmaking,” Vogel said. “I first became friends with [Reims], who is now one of my closest friends, because I asked him to be the cinematographer for [“Capsule”].”

Vogel said she is grateful for the friendships she has formed through filmmaking and said that they have become a large part of her life.

“Connections like [Reims] that wouldn’t have necessarily happened without filmmaking are part of why art is so memorable,” Vogel said.