By GINA MAURER

Sophomore Kierin Rogers of Keansburg has been interested in film for as long as she can remember, she said.

“I used to make really cheesy home videos with my sister and have mini film festival screenings with my family, and I guess being that I have a family full of movie buffs it was sort of inevitable that I’d have some sort of interest in the art,” she said.

But what was once just a childhood hobby has evolved into a passion. Rogers has her own Vimeo channel where she tries to post weekly videos, and she participates in the Digital Video Club at CHS. Rogers is now working on a project for television as well.

“I am also currently helping with the development and cinematography for an upcoming reality series on PBS. It follows the life and career of a Mexican-born chef and how he is living out his American dream,” Rogers said.

But the reality series isn’t the project Rogers is most proud of, she said. The film that holds that title is “Nick,” a project she co-directed with fellow sophomores Liz Srulevich and Annie Diaz. The film was accepted into the All American High School Film Festival, Rogers said.

“It represents the first thing that I accomplished that the world was free to enjoy, it gave me hope to pursue my dream career and allowed me to realize that it is possible to make it, even in the competitive industry,” she said of the film.

Rogers said she loves film because she believes movies are a “beautiful learning experience.”

“It’s a puzzle, and each and every piece correlates together to create a piece of art … and I can’t stress that enough. Cinema is art!”

Rogers said she plans to pursue a career in film and eventually open up a specialized film school.

“I wish to give underprivileged children and those suffering from mental illness a chance to have access to equipment that would be otherwise inaccessible and to use film as the therapeutic medium that it has the potential to be,” Rogers said.