When Henry Gillette walked into my high school filmmaking class, he already loved movies—but he didn’t yet know how far his own stories could take him. Today, Henry is a filmmaking student at Loyola Marymount University, building a growing body of work and a professional reel that already includes client projects and a powerful portfolio film called Sparkling Water.

A Portfolio Film With Something to Say

For his film school applications, Henry didn’t just want to show technical skill; he wanted to tackle a subject that mattered deeply to him. Sparkling Water became that film: a tense, unnerving look at eating disorders, an issue that affects millions of people but is still underrepresented—and often glamorized—on screen.

Rather than trying to tell a definitive story about recovery, Henry aimed to give viewers a snapshot of what it’s like to live inside that struggle. The film’s emotional tone is its engine: uneasy, honest, and quietly devastating without ever tipping into misery for...