10-10-10: Patrick Alcerro and Leanne Sturman

“What time do we start shooting tomorrow? Do I have time to go surfing first?” asks Grayson Baggiolini, the young production assistant on the set of Patrick Alcerro’s 10-10-10 film, as he checks the settings on their camera.

Even on the set of a movie, both Baggiolini and Alcerro personify Santa Barbara. The two Anacapa School students led the charge forward as part of the first 10-10-10 team to start shooting their film — even when it cut into their surfing time.

At barely 16, Alcerro and his screenwriter partner Leanne Sturman are two of the youngest competitors in this year’s 10-10-10 competition. Yet what they lack in age — and, perhaps, raw hours of experience — they make up for with a pure and completely unadulterated love of making movies. With a small crew made up of Baggiolini, Patrick’s sister, and Sturman — who was on set during the entire process — the team filmed Leanne’s story of a teenage journalist being pursued by gang members.

Although Sturman, a sophomore at San Marcos, is new to screenwriting, her writing was pleasantly youthful and accessible, although not immature. Alcerro, however, is somewhat of a veteran for his age: he’s been the producer on the SB Teen News Network and participated in Anacapa’s film production class.

While they worry about the threat of the other teams, it’s hard to do so when there’s nothing to which their work can be compared; this is, miraculously, the first time both of them have entered the contest. Leanne has second thoughts about their script, but Patrick reassures her that it’s good — and that they just don’t have enough time to make changes, since the clock is always ticking.

Stay tuned for more 10-10-10 coverage in the days to come at independent.com/sbiff.