This is a contribution from a Swampscott High School student, as part of the Swampscott Tides Big Blue Student News selection. 

Story by Cam Tracy

The summer season is full of opportunities for high school students to stay busy. Whether it’s getting a summer job, volunteering as a counselor at a local summer camp, or learning how to drive, there are plenty of ways to make the most of the time away from school. 

This year, however, upcoming Swampscott High School juniors Noah Wierl and Zoë Bannister decided to spend their summer putting their filmmaking experience to work on an independent short film.

“What got me into filmmaking in my sophomore year was helping out and hanging out with my friends my freshman year who were in the film classes,” Wierl said. 

Bannister said the two wanted to make the short film this summer “because we like to make stuff and were inspired by other short films we see online.”

The two young filmmakers describe the film’s plot as “a film about a girl who leads a boring life until she takes a friendly zombie into her care and the two become pals.”

Wierl and Bannister will co-direct the film, with Bannister leading the cinematography department. Wierl is also considering working on the film’s music, drawing on his previous musical experience as a member of the band Thread the Needle.

The production has already begun, following several weeks of pre-production.

“The pre-production took a couple weeks to plan out, but it was worth it because we are now prepared almost completely for production and we have shot Phase 1 of 5 of production so far and it will probably take us a while with school starting up,” Wierl said. “Post shouldn’t take more than two weeks because we like to edit a lot.”

The film is currently in its early stages and does not yet have a title or exact release date. The filmmakers expect the short to be released on YouTube sometime during the fourth quarter of 2026.