Three Ballard High School students were awarded at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth April 25 and five others had their films accepted to the Westport Youth Film Festival.

"Left Side," a documentary by Esther Magasis, Andy Tran and Ryan Zemke about a professional skier and mountain biker coping with the loss of a leg, won best documentary at NFFTY.

The award was determined by a panel of 23 professional filmmakers.

Andy Tran has been asked to produce a longer version of the documentary professionally, said Matt Lawrence, director of the video production program at Ballard High School.

Prior to the festival, Tran told the Ballard News-Tribune that he was interested in making documentaries professionally and was hoping to use NFFTY to get his name out there.

NFFTY is three-year-old film festival for young filmmakers started by Ballard High School alum Jesse Harris. This year's festival included 113 films from 20 states and eight countries.

The films "Don't Spill," by Levi Friedman, Jacob Kutrakun and Zemke, and "The Umbrella," by Parker Davis, Kaelan Gilman and Henry Shenk, along with "Left Side," were named official selections for the Westport Youth Film Festival in Connecticut.

These and other films by Ballard High School students will be screened at 7 p.m., May 29 at Ballard High School.