When Ballard High School film program student Vann Fulfs was announced the winner of The Justin Amorratanasuchad Scholarship Fund -- more colloquially known as the JDogg Scholarship -- it was an emotional moment.

“I actually think I started crying to be honest,” he said. “… I think it was very emotional for a lot of people in the room. It’s sort of a touchy subject.”

For Fulfs, it was a moment that meant his ability to attend all four years of college was assured. Fulfs said he and his family were unsure whether he would be able to finish college with the money they had.

But what made him emotional was the story behind the JDogg scholarship. It was created by two proud parents in memory of their son, Justin “JDogg” Ammorratanasuchad,” a former Ballard High School video production student and a junior at Emerson University who had won several accolades and the hearts of his friends and teachers.

He died when he accidentally fell off a roof in Boston while filming two years ago. The class assignment was to capture morning. The footage began with a friend fixing coffee and then followed him to the rooftop, Boston’s morning skyline in the distance. He died doing what he loved.

For Fulfs, the weight of the backstory was not lost.

“It’s hard for me to express it … just being put to where Justin was, was a huge honor,” he said.

The parents of Ammorratanasuchad, Blair and Craig Brook-Weiss, now in their second year of giving out the scholarship, thought Fulfs was every bit deserving of the scholarship, which this year was again $5,000, not including any surplus of donations from their participation in Seattle Foundation’s GiveBig event. A committee chose Fulfs out of several others based on three criteria: passion, talent and financial need.

“He seems to be a pretty humble person, a pretty talented person,” Craig Brook-Weiss said. The first trait, Fulfs’ humility, was particularly striking for Craig Brook-Weiss. “It’s really a trait that’s not high among young people … usually it’s something that takes a lot of hard lessons in life.”

Ballard Video Production Teacher Matt Lawrence also noted Fulfs’ focus on teamwork.

“He’s passionate about filmmaking, and he’s good at recognizing skills in others,” Lawrence said. “Students always want to be on his production teams because they know they’ll have a chance to shine.”

In the three years he has been with the Ballard High School film program, Fulfs has won several recognitions for his work in conjunction with other students. The film “Sundown,” which Fulfs did with fellow students Bryan Quandt and Jacob Scott, won an Award for Excellence in Dramatic Narrative at the 15th Annual Northwest High School Film Festival, the same festival that Fulfs was awarded the JDogg scholarship. In addition, the short won honorable mention at the Dominique Dunn Film competition in Colorado Springs, a screening at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth and a nomination for Best Fiction at the 17th Annual Derek Freese Festival.

“Sundown,” perhaps one of the students’ more complex stories, follows a high school student whose friends are mysteriously dying in the woods. The film, which explores a theme of “Who am I?” and makes excellent use of night-time lighting, quickly takes a dark turn and has a surprisingly mature plot.

Fulfs is quick to give credit to others. In an interview with the Ballard News-Tribune, he said he wasn’t very good at writing stories himself and that mostly he just wanted to help his friends bring their ideas to life. Fitting that kind of role, he will be going to Columbia College -- named by the Hollywood Reporter as one of the best film schools in the world -- in the hopes of becoming a producer.

“It’s one of the things I’m best at so I think I’m going to keep moving forward with it,” Fulfs said. “… I’m always learning.”

Of course, Fulfs is just one example of the many students -- including Justin Amorratanasuchad -- who have won awards and gained careers in filmmaking as the result of the Ballard High School Video Production program. Fulfs has one specific reason as to why he’s gotten as far as he has at such a young age: Mr. Lawrence.

“I owe everything pretty much to Mr. Lawrence,” he said. “He’s just passionate about the program. I don’t think he gets all the appreciation he deserves because he can be difficult sometimes, but he is the best teacher I’ve ever had.”

Back at the festival where the JDogg scholarship was awarded, Craig Brook-Weiss recalled one specific moment that made him glad Fulfs was chosen as the recipient.

“He looked me in the eye and said, ‘You have no idea what this means to me.’”

For more info about the Ballard High School Video Production Program, visit http://www.bhsvideo.blogspot.com/

For more info about the JDogg scholarship and how to donate to the fund, visit http://jdoggfilmscholarship.org/

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