It’s lights, camera, action for a group of O’Hara Elementary moviemaking students celebrating the release of their latest student-led short film.

The O’Hara Elementary Movie Making Club recently completed a whimsical, Olympic-themed short movie that includes chocolate milk-loving alien cats.

At the creative helm of the after-school club is fifth grader William Winerock, an aspiring animator known for his dapper duds, original ideas and movie­making vision.

“I got into animation when I was 4 years old. My dad was using Blender animation, and I asked what he was doing and I hopped up on his lap, watched and decided I wanted to do that,” Winerock said.

William and his classmate Sylvia Ross are co-creators of the O’Hara Elementary Movie Making Club.

“The Cat-A-Lympics” is the zany production result of the 2024 club production season.

The movie includes a cast of 19 students from grades three to five. William’s father, Chris Wilmer, is the club parent organizer and director.

A premiere party was hosted Feb. 23 at William’s house that included grape juice, snacks and two showings of “The Cat-A-Lympics” for the cast, family and friends.

The movie isn’t available for public viewing.

Filming took place at O’Hara Elementary and at the Winerock home and utilized props, a green screen and AI programs.

O’Hara Elementary Principal Kristy Batis watched the film and said it filled her with joy and pride.

“I’m so pleased that our O’Hara students and volunteers choose to focus on sharing their creative talents with others on spreading positivity,” Batis said.

Animation sensation

Joyce Hanz | TRIBLIVE O’Hara Elementary fifth grader, animator, actor and amateur moviemaker William Oliver Winerock photographed Feb. 24 on campus  

Winerock, 10, was 7 when he produced a “Ninja on Train” series in honor of his friend’s birthday, and the series expanded to six films.

“I put them in my portfolio, and they look like really old silent films,” Winerock said.

Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd are three silent film comedians whom Winerock admires.

“I’ve always liked old stuff,” William said. “I’ve never been into the future. I’ve been called an old soul numerous times. I have a bow tie collection.”

Batis credited William’s kindness as a key component of the club.

“William is a friend to all of his peers, and he brings his kindness, collaborative nature and creative skill sets to these sessions intent on building others up and giving all students an opportunity to shine in the spotlight,” Batis said. “He is selfless and wise beyond his years.”

The avid animator shared his latest YouTube animation creation, dubbed “Tommy the T,” featuring a Ford Model T.

“I really like that I got a lot of attention on YouTube with this video. People actually like what I do. It’s not just my interest in this stuff,” Winerock said.

Collaborative classmates

The moviemaking club was formed in 2023. Students meet weekly after school in the fall.

They gathered for several brainstorming sessions, and William said the goal was to have huge lists that included original ideas for the film.

“We wanted wacky ideas,” William said, adding the entire script-writing process was a student collaboration. “We only picked so many ideas to be in the actual movie, then we went into putting it together. We came up with main ideas of the Olympics, a chocolate swimming pool and cats and decided to make it Cat Olympics.”

Fourth grader Wiley Walters is new to the club and played three different characters.

Walters’ mother, Jamie Colton-Walters of Aspinwall, attended the premiere and was impressed by the film. She praised director Wilmer.

“The effort that Chris put into making it a memorable experience for the students is amazing. It was fun, zany and incorporated all of the kids’ ideas, and he really let the kids take the reins,” Colton-Walters said. “I think it could pique an interest in that sort of career path for some of the students. My son had never acted before, and now he wants to show people the film, show relatives, and he’s very proud of it.”

The production timeline included a total of six hours of meetings and two weekend filming sessions.

William handled animation creation on his laptop.

“It was a lot of fun, and the kids had a good time. It all happens fast-paced, and the students from the prior years wish they could do animation themselves, but there’s no computer lab at the school,” Wilmer said.

William will move on to Dorseyville Middle School this fall. The club may continue at O’Hara, but that is yet to be determined, Wilmer said.

Fox Chapel Area High School students Juliette Hirshberg and Karsten Buchert and parent Samantha Kunvatanagarn of O’Hara volunteered with the production.

Kunvatanagarn helped in all aspects of the production and her fourth grade daughter Scarlett Kunvatanagarn acted as a co-anchor.

“Scarlett loves to be on camera and wanted to participate in the moviemaking club. The biggest aspect is that all the ideas came from the students and their imaginations. It was really fun to see the way these kids fine-tuned their ideas, and I was really surprised (at) how well they worked together. It’s amazing how talented all of them are,” Kunvatanagarn said. “Scarlett definitely found her niche, and I know that drama is the place for her, so it was nice to put her in that environment. It was very positive.”

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---