Kaitlyn Corcoran went through a difficult ordeal, and wanted to show people in similar circumstances that they are not alone.

Elaine Woods just got tired of conspiracy theorists yapping on TV and wanted to have some fun them.

Both fashioned their ideas into a script, then cast, directed and filmed their way into the Prescott Film Festival. Kaitlyn’s “My Friend, ED” and Elaine’s “Study Session,” will be two of the Film & Media Arts students’ short-subject films presented Wednesday, July 17, at 1 p.m., at the Jim & Linda Lee Center for the Performing Arts.

“’My friend, ED’ is about a girl named Ana who struggles with an eating disorder,” Corcoran says. “The film I’m making follows her everyday struggles.” In the film, ‘ED’ becomes an actual persona that Ana must keep at bay as she tries to stabilize her relationship with food and body image. Corcoran drew from her own painful experience. “I struggled with an eating disorder, and when I was going through it, I felt alone. I wanted to shed a light on it and show people they aren’t alone.”

Elaine Woods’ journey was more satirical. “I was watching conspiracy theorists rant on YouTube,” she says. “And I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be funny if that came true?’ So she wrote ‘Study Session,’ a two-person film where one study partner espouses an elaborate a bizarre conspiracy theory that can’t possibly be true … or can it? “I was able to have some fun with it,” Woods says. “I can’t write things that are serious.”

Both Corcoran and Woods had to conceive, direct and produce a story as their final project for their FMA 105 Production 2 class. Both found the process of telling a story through a variety of actors, locations and camera settings a challenge. “I had to rent out an Air B&B for the house scenes,” Corcoran says. “I would take, on average, 30 minutes to set up a shot. You have to get [the look] right, you have to get the lighting right … we were [filming] from 2:30 p.m. to midnight, so you can imagine a very long day.”

Woods – who had to pare down her script to a two-person format – enjoyed the community aspect of filmmaking. “We shot it in one day, and it was so nice to have the whole class helping. This is the first time I’ve had a lot of help. So I learned a lot about collaboration.”

Both enjoyed the final product. “I’ve had this idea since January 16, 2024,” Corcoran says. “I’ve been working on script and pre-production stuff and honestly didn’t know what to expect. It’s such a rush to see something you’ve had in your head come to life on the screen.”

“I love it,” Woods says. “I used to be active in local theatre. And I like theatre, but when you make a film, you get to keep it and show it to your grandkids. So, that’s pretty good!”

The Prescott Film Festival runs July 17-20, at the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center. For tickets and additional information, please call: (928) 776-2000.