The amplifier., October 01, 2008, Page 6, Image 22

Mahnic film named finalist in Baiali contest
a M ary W ood _____________
Staff Reporter
Is Reis Mahnic, senior,
on his way to becoming a
master filmmaker? Maybe
so. Over the summer he
created a winning film entry
by making a video for Mario
Batali's Ultimate Grilling
Challenge for Thomas
Palmrose, father of Osten,
senior. The video turned
out to be quite a success,
launching Palmrose into the
semifinals and the chance
to win prizes totalling up to
$11,250.
"They wanted us to
make a three minute film
that showed how to make
a simple and easy meal,"
Mahnic said. Palmrose's
idea of simple and easy? A
meal featuring pigeon.
The birds were culls that
were being thinned from
the flock and were given
to him by local pigeon
breeder. They were grilled
served with sauce and
polenta. Help with tasting
was provided by Ralph
Giannini, a Bale's employee
and Palmrose's friend.
"Reis essentially pulled it
all together," Palmrose said.
He was nervous at first,
but Mahnic helped calm
his nerves. "He directed me
around and got me going."
The video was first
entered in August, and in
early September the video
was chosen with six other
videos for the quarterfinals.
These winners received
Reis Mahnic, senior, displays his editing skills with a photo from
his website, smashtabby.com. Mahnic has been involved in the
school’s film, drama and music programs. His filming helped Thomas
Palmrose, parent of Osten, senior, become a semifinalist in the Mario
Batali Ultimate Grilling Challenge.
Photo courtesy of Reis Mahnic
Batali Edition Bistro Crocs,
autographed cookbooks,
a grilling stone, and a
gift basket with food and
recipes. Semifinalists won
aprons, a year's supply of
paper towels and a variety
of kitchen tools.
The ultimate winner
of the contest turned out
to be a man named Jim
Webster from Clearwater,
Fla. He will receive airfare
and hotel accommodations
for Fort Worth, Texas to go
along with passes to many
NASCAR related events,
including a pre-race tailgate
with Mario Batali and
Rachael Ray.
After the video, Mahnic is
still at work with his movie­
making skills.
"I do a lot of filming and
a lot of acting," he said.
He considers himself a
comedian, but doesn't like
all comedies. He doesn't
like the Scary Movie series,
which he thinks don't take
themselves seriously. Other
than that, he'll give any
Crisis at food bank requires student support
u L exi & A shley W elp _______
Staff Reporters
Cradling her baby boy
and dragging her five
year old daughter who is
crying from hunger, Mary,
a distressed mother arrives
at their destination—a food
pantry. The doors are shut
and there is an apologetic
letter taped to the window.
Disbelieving what has she
just read, the woman looks
inside to see the boxes
empty and the shelves bare.
Now she wishes she hadn't
promised her daughter that
there would be something
to eat.
Tualatin School House
Pantry (TSHP) is a
community organized
food bank that receives
help from local churches,
businesses, social and civic
organizations, individuals,
the City of Tualatin and
the Tigard School District.
This food bank provides
emergency boxes with up
to five days worth food and
personal care supplies, once
per month.
TSHP also acts as a
host for Medical Terms
International mobile dental
care, a referral center which
helps families find other
organizations in the area
and a work-appropriate
clothing closet. Though
TSHP is a refuge for
people and families in
need, the economy crash
has taken a large toll on it.
Because the organization
receives so much food from
individual donors as well as
businesses, its supplies are
depleted and still more and
more people are coming in
for help. With more clients
and less food the current
condition of the food bank is
not in well standing.
Unless more donations
and fundraisers take place
in the next month or so,
Oregon Food Bank also
donates food to TSHP.
Upon hearing of the
shortage, several groups
have organized events to
benefit TSHP. One is Rolling
Hills Community Church
(RHCC) which is located .
in Tualatin but has many
members who live in West
Linn.
"I think we need to do our
part. We need to lead the
charge," Brandon Campbell,
student ministries team at
We had 14,000 groceries delivered
on Aug. 29 from Frontier Missions
and we're already almost out."
Shirley Johnson,
Volunteer Coordinator
the food bank will run out
of food and clients will be
turned away. However,
the Tualatin community's
efforts to bring in food may
not be enough without the
contributions of neighboring
communities such as West
Linn.
"We had 14,000 groceries
delivered on Aug. 29 from
Frontier Missions and
we're already almost out,"
Shirley Johnson, volunteer
coordinator, said. Along
with Frontier Missions, the
Rolling Hills Community
Church, said. Their planned
event is Trick-Or-Can
fooding which consists of
high school students going
door-to-door tonight and
asking for canned food to
give to TSHP.
Students are welcome
to join the event and the
organizers hope to raise a
substantial amount of food
and supplies. Students will
meet at RHCC at 6:30 p.m.
"I'm going to dress up
as a vampire and I'm going
with a bunch of friends
tonight to gather food for
the TSHP," Joshua Harrel,
junior, said. Harrel and his
friends, along with other
students participating in the
event, hope to gather large
amounts of food to benefit
TSHP.
In this time of crisis and
need, organizations like
TSHP are vital for families
who are experiencing
financial trouble. Prices
for food and essentials has
risen further stressing those
in need.
"I went to the store and
spent about $150 on food
and I didn't even get that
much. The cost of food is
really going up," Campbell
said.
RHCC is hoping to
start a regular partnership
with monthly events, but
individuals can also help.
Students can donate food,
personal care supplies and
used clothing.
"[Students] can also
come down and volunteer
to, stock shelves, show
people around, and sort
food down to smaller
amounts. And there are also
the food drives," Johnson
said.
Go to www.
schoolhousepantry.org for
more information about
TSHP and how to become
involved.
type of movie a try, with the
exception of modem horror
films.
He's made music videos
and he wrote, directed and
starred in a movie called
"Circumstantially Pompous"
which he wrote for his
film class. He worked with
Kaylen Butler and Jordan
Reyes, seniors, and an eight
person cast and crew. It was
filmed mostly in a grocery
store in Lake Oswego,
which created a sound
problem due to the noises of
the freezers and music. They
had to rerecord all the lines,
but it ended up working
out, especially because the
focus of the film was less
on the sound than it was
on getting interesting shots.
Mahnic thinks that was
achieved.
"That all came together
really well," Mahnic said.
He credits much of the
success to the organization.
"We had a very specific
schedule that we worked
by."
Gary Eppelsheimer, film
teacher, is really impressttjjfe-
by Mahnic's filmmaking. ~
"We have one or two
students each year who
leave our film program
and go on to film school,"
Eppelsheimer said. "Based
on Reis's work in Film 1 last
school year, I wouldn't be
surprised at all if he ends up
being one of those students."
Mahnic is deeply
involved in acting, dating
back to his performances in
musicals in middle school.
He's been in school plays,
including "The Imaginary
Invalid," and has done work
with the Sojourn Theatre,
for which he contributing
the writing of "Capture and
Hold: An Exploration of the
Power of Memory."
"We worked for an entire
year on the production," he
said. The play was about
what memories mean to
the actors and how their
memories affect who they
are.
Mahnic considers his
most important acting
experience his yearly
participation in the Regional
Acting Competition. He
has made it to State for
pantomime twice, being
part of one of only eight
groups in the state that are
able to compete.
In addition to acting and
filming, Mahnic has learned
to play many instruments,
including the accordion, piano
and alto saxophone. To leam
more about Mahnic, visit h
website, smashtabby.com.