Royal Oak, MI – In a remarkable achievement, two Royal Oak High School students have been honored as award-winning documentary filmmakers in the significant C-SPAN StudentCam Documentary Competition. Among a pool of 3,500 students nationwide, Ani Ceccacci and Wyatt Martin emerged as standout talents, showcasing their impactful storytelling and innovative filmmaking abilities.
Ani Ceccacci secured 2nd Place in the Central Division for their compelling documentary titled “Gender-Affirming Care: It Saves More Lives Than You Would Think.” This work has not only impressed judges but also garnered the National Fan Favorite Award, recognizing the powerful message and vast support it has received. In a previous interview with the Oakland County Times, Ceccacci explained, “I struggled to find authenticity through other news covering this topic and figured the most important and impactful ideas we could hear would be from those directly affected. The prompt for this competition was to send a message to the president about something affecting your community, and that’s exactly what I did. I knew this was my chance to get my message out there so that one day I still have a chance of getting the Gender-Affirming Care I hope to receive.”
Wyatt Martin also achieved notable recognition in the same competition, claiming 3rd Place in the Central Division for his documentary “Saving The Workforce’s Backbone.” This thought-provoking short film addresses the critical importance of career and technical education, a subject that resonates deeply in today's job market.
Both students’ award-winning projects will be showcased in future editions of the Not-So-Live Raven Report, which airs on Fridays. Viewers can witness Ceccacci’s award-winning documentary by visiting the National Fan Favorite competition page at here.
As if their triumphs in documentary filmmaking weren’t enough, both Ani Ceccacci and Wyatt Martin were also accepted to Emerson College in Boston during the week of March 17, 2025. This prestigious institution is known for its strong focus on media and communications, making it a fitting next step for these budding filmmakers.
The C-SPAN StudentCam Documentary Competition invites students from across the country to engage in media production and address important issues within their communities. This year’s competition saw participation from thousands of students, indicating not only the value of student voices but also their potential to influence public policy. The inspiration behind Ceccacci’s documentary was clearly driven by personal experience and a desire to communicate the realities of gender-affirming care to a broader audience, as they indicated during their media engagement.
With competition entries requiring students to convey messages to the president about community issues, it serves as a platform for youth to act. By addressing vital themes through their documentaries, both Ceccacci and Martin have contributed to important discussions within their respective topics—qualifying them as role models for their peers.
The recognition these young filmmakers have received highlights the significance of advocacy through storytelling, as they effectively communicate pressing social issues through their creative endeavors. As they move forward in their academic and filmmaking careers, audiences can look forward to seeing how they continue to advocate for meaningful changes in society through film.
Stay tuned to the Not-So-Live Raven Report by checking it out on YouTube, where both projects and other student stories are shared. Follow this link to watch the Not So Live Raven Report here.
