HHS graduate earns recognition at film festival

By Staff
Staff reports
Lee Fanning, a 2004 Hartselle High School graduate, was awarded an Alabama Citation of Excellence - Genius Award at the Alabama Sidewalk Film Festival held September in Birmingham.
The award-winning film was titled “Return to the Shadowed Pasture.” Fanning wrote, directed and produced the film with the assistance of Peyton Blankenship of Somerville in the animal of the creature. The film is an allegory about how perception creates reality.
In addition of the award, Fanning also had two other films selected for viewing at the festival. About 140 films were selected out of more than 700 entries. Fanning directed, produced and co-wrote along with his brother, Jason Fanning, a 1999 HHS graduate, “The Dogwood Trees.” The film examines the relationship between a couple sorting through serious commitment problems. Fanning was producer on the film “Prize of the Capstone,” directed by recent University of Alabama graduate Ben Stark. The film is a spoof about two brothers involved in searching for a secret that can forever change The University of Alabama.
Fanning is a junior at the University of Alabama majoring in film and telecommunication.
He has maintained a 3.75 GPA and is a member of Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honors Organization, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the National’s Dean’s List. Fanning was recently extended membership in the Golden Key International Honor Society. He is the son of Arkie and Robin Fanning of Hartselle.