Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Identical triplets (from left) Miles, Dylan and Jesse Stipek pose in their mother's barn, which has been the backdrop to many of their Civil War-era films. The brothers' film "Soldiers of Necker" played recently at McCaw Hall in Seattle, where it won an award for audience choice for feature short.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Triplets' film work wins them an award By Kaitlin Manry Herald Writer MONROE -- Jesse, Miles and Dylan Stipek's first film consisted of fight scenes with plastic lightsabers. The identical triplets recorded the "movie" in their parents' Monroe home -- and on one memorable occasion, standing on the roof, until Mom saw and demanded they come down. A boom box provided the soundtrack and their costumes were limited to capes. They were 8. Their latest movie, "Soldiers of Necker," played at McCaw Hall in Seattle as part of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. The World War II film won the audience choice award for featured short. It included original music by Emmy Award-winning film composer Carl Johnson, who donated the score to the triplets. "It's incredible," said their mom, Cheryl Stipek, a professional singer who performs at parties and festivals. "It gave me absolute tingles when I saw it on that great big screen. It was so good. It was so professional. It seems like just yesterday they were up on the roof with their Star Wars things ... I never thought they would go this far." The Stipek triplets, now 19, run their own film company, Trico Films, with high-tech equipment, a wardrobe of costumes and a Web site. When they're not editing video and writing scripts, they attend the University of Washington's Bothell campus on scholarships from a New York-based foundation backed by onetime billionaire Andrew McKelvey. They taped "Soldiers of Necker" in the woods of Monroe. The same friends who acted in their "Star Wars" inspired movies joined them on screen in "Soldiers of Necker." The 30-minute film is about two U.S. soldiers who get separated from their squad during an enemy ambush and are forced to wait until help arrives. The triplets wrote, filmed, directed and edited it. "Soldiers of Necker" was among the 73 films showcased at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth at the end of March. The audience choice award is their first major award. "It was pretty cool because that's a pretty big thing for us," said Jesse Stipek. "We worked hard on the film and it did pretty good." Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com. @4. OT ByNumbers hedder:On the Web Trico Films: www.tricofilms.com "Soldiers of Necker" www.crackle.com/c/Shorts/Soldiers_of_Necker/2226730#ml=fi%3D%26fu%3D2265017 The National Film Festival for Talented Youth www.nffty.org Composer Carl Johnson www.swanderfulmusic.com

1. City of Everett, neighbor sued over lost trees, mudslide 2. Three-car accident closes Highway 9 3. Kennedy’s assassination remains a puzzling memory 4. Ways to Give: How you can help in your community 5. Take a look under your seat 6. Novice real estate investors can lose their shirts 7. Kwan never golden, but sometimes transcendant 8. Lotto ticket worth $6.5 million sold in Lake Stevens 9. Canceled credit cards come as a shock for some 10. Count drags on long after the election's over 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Eat local this Thanksgiving • Mavericks moving on • Canada's Great Big Sea rolls into Edmonds • A. Murphy finishes 2nd in volleyball • Art Walk features music, demonstrations • EAT LOCAL: Getting the goods • Lynnwood HS history teacher Vic Bennet dies • Wildcats head to semis • CSO Chamber annual show slated Nov. 23 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million