SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A student from John Adams High School was surprised with a statewide win for his screenplay on Tuesday.

Sam Villagra-Stanton, a junior at John Adams, submitted a script for a short film in the Project Pigasis competition.

His script was chosen as the winner out of hundreds of high school students in Indiana.

“Seeing the whole transition from paper to screen, it’s surreal. That’s what I love about film. It’s about making your ideas a reality,” Villagra-Stanton said.

This marks the third year that the company has done the competition.

Pigasis Pictures plans to film the project in South Bend starting in May, and the short film will be submitted to multiple film festivals after it is completed.