By Caleb Epstein ‘25, Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

Every year, Newark Academy’s spirit week culminates with the beloved spirit videos. These lighthearted, humor-filled films have been historically non-contentious. Enter Evan Breckman ‘25, whose directing and filmmaking led the class of ‘25 to back-to-back film victories. However, this year Evan faced a new challenge: the Seniors’ film, directed by Harold Fullilove ‘23, was not only impressive but first-prize worthy. Among excellent films from the Marvel Middle school, Farmer Freshman, and James Bond Juniors, Breckman and Fullilove’s work stood out from the rest. The final ruling from the anonymous judges sparked controversy in the upper school, putting the integrity of their judgment into question. Although it is likely that Breckman out-wrote the seniors, Fullilove directed a masterful and much better screenplay. The seniors had a more rounded film, so why did the seniors fall short with their final spirit video?

Despite being in the midst of college applications, the seniors found a way to produce what they thought was a winning piece. Naturally, with the senior’s spirit week theme being Saddle Up Seniors, Fullilove chose to direct a spoof on classic western films. When asked about the creation of the film, Harold said he looked at older cowboy and western movies for inspiration. His goal was to make a parody of the cliché shootout, which he executed successfully. So successfully, in fact, that Fullilove believes the seniors should have won. “I do think we were robbed,” states a sour Fullilove. Despite the disagreement, he made clear that the seniors “lost to the right people.” In his mind, the decision should have been “51/49” in favor of the departing class, but Fullilove acknowledged the genius of the sophomores’ speech writing, saying, “[The sophomores] video played to the strength of what the judges are looking for.” According to Fullilove, the humor revolution of the spirit videos has become glaring in the past two years, resulting in higher-quality films from each grade. “We went from essentially having music videos that were really low production value to now having videos with really thought-out scripts.” These thought-out scripts were not effortless. Fullilove put his heart and soul into his final film. He described the editing process as “slow” and “grueling” and emphasized his desire for a polished product. Although Harold’s time as a spirit week director has come to a close, his dedication has set a precedent for the future.

The road to first place was no cakewalk for Evan Breckman, though. Because the premise of the film was to have 60 sophomores instead of 60s sophomores, Breckman was disappointed when only five showed up. In his words, “I did some trickery and magic, and I think it turned out pretty well.” It certainly did. The video was a hit from the moment the audience looked at the establishing shot. What followed was continuous laughter.. Breckman is quite particular when it comes to the formulation of a film: “When I write a script, I usually write one big joke first, I elaborate on that, and the small jokes come.” Co-writing with Molly Breckman ‘23, the small jokes started pouring out. Punchline after punchline, Evan had the attention of every student in Coraci during the film’s showing. When asked about this year’s controversy, Breckman responded, “I think the seniors did deserve the win, but I think [the sophomores] also deserved the win. Either outcome would have been totally acceptable. I think the lesson here is that I bribed the right people.” Like Harold, Evan has noticed the rise of quality in spirit week videos. After going on about not wanting “toot [his] own horn”, Breckman admitted, “I think that last year’s Fashion Freshman created a bump in quality and set the bar for this year.” He is not wrong: Breckman’s winning 2021 spirit video, Fashion Freshman, set a precedent for this year, ultimately leading to consistent quality films from all grades in a competitive spirit week contest.

Although the class of 2025 walked away with the win, the middle school, freshmen, juniors, and seniors should be proud of their respective pieces. Both directors highlighted the high quality of films this year, and how it really was anyone’s game. The talent displayed in this year’s spirit week was remarkable, and the Newark Academy community should be excited for what the future holds.