May 6, 2025 By Carol Britton Meyer
Kyra McConnell, Casey Hussey, and Sarah Allen — enthusiastic participants in Hingham Public Schools arts offerings before they graduated several years ago — will be directing, producing, and shooting their original short film, “Wunderkind,” at various locations around town in mid-July.
“This project is truly a love letter to Hingham, heavily inspired by our experiences growing up in the HPS arts programs,” Kyra told the Hingham Anchor.
“Wunderkind” explores what comes after that — the “strange, difficult, and exciting passage between childhood and adulthood” — and will be shot on location at various iconic Hingham locations.
“Filming here will not only bring the arts more into Hingham but also introduce Hingham to the world as a beautiful small community that supports the arts,” Sarah said.
The film is a conversation between the “creative child and the creative young adult and explores the complexities of siblinghood.”
It’s for anyone who’s ever felt the growing pains of returning home “when everything still feels like a work in progress.”
Volunteer opportunities will be available for all ages, including Hingham High students, to assist with the production.
‘Wunderkind’ fundraiser
To help raise funds to make this production happen, Casey, Sarah, and Kyra recently launched a Seeds and Spark crowdfunding campaign, with a $12,000 goal. For more information about the film or to make a pledge of support, go to https://seedandspark.com/fund/wunderkind#story.
“Having this fundraiser helps keep the energy moving and everyone excited about the project,” Casey said.
Looking back
Sometime after graduation, Kyra, Casey, and Sarah had a chance to renew their earlier close friendship in Brooklyn, NY, where they had all relocated by happenstance. This was the perfect opportunity for them to collaborate on creating a film.
The resulting “Wunderkind” is about two young artists — one a child and one a brand-new adult — as they reconnect and discover the potential of their sisterhood and creativity.
“If I could describe Wunderkind in one word, it would be ‘change,'” Kyra said. “Everyone in this film is dealing with change in some way: Sunny with her father’s remarriage and having another child later in life, as well as returning to her hometown after being away at college and living in a new city. Eleanor is learning and changing every day as she approaches turning 10. And Jamie has changed a lot during his transition, but at heart, has remained the same good-hearted person. The three characters form this triangulation that represents a mix of coming-of-age themes.”
This is a story about empathy “and stepping into others’ shoes and understanding how others might feel [in particular situations],” said Kyra, who co-wrote the script with Sarah. “This is definitely a lesson I learned from my most beloved teachers and Hingham artists as a young creative person, so I’m putting this to good use now as a young adult.”
For Sarah, the HPS arts programs “gave us the ability to believe in the power of creating art, and now we’re returning to Hingham to make a film about the town that gave us the tools to do what we are doing now. So it’s come full circle.”
Casey noted that Hingham being a “‘sports town,’ Sarah, Kyra, and I were united by the arts as individual artists, and by producing this film, we are hoping to encourage other high school students to pursue their creative interests as well.”
Volunteer opportunities for community members with different talents — related in part to art, production, design, costumes, and props — will be available, with more details to come.
High school students with an interest in filmmaking may also have the opportunity to shadow Kyra, Casey, and Sarah for a few hours during the production.
‘We forged our own paths’
The three friends “forged our own paths in high school and are encouraging others to do the same,” according to Sarah.
Shooting the film in Hingham “is a way to bring the joy of filmmaking to the town where we grew up, while also showing young budding artists that pursuing their interests through creative expression is definitely do-able,” Kyra shared. “We want to make this a community experience.”
A number of local organizations have already expressed support for the project, including the Hingham Unity Council.
“The HUC is pleased to support this project, not only because we think it’s important to support queer and female filmmakers, but we feel that it’s core to our mission to encourage young people who grew up in our town to come back home and invest in our community,” Katie Sutton — a founding member and member of the HUC board — told the Hingham Anchor. “The importance of place in storytelling cannot be underestimated, and Hingham is a beautiful and enchanting character in this film.”
Community involvement
Casey expressed appreciation to organizations and individuals who have already expressed support for the project. “They are welcoming us with open arms. We’re so excited about it!”
Community involvement opportunities range from pledging financial support to joining the film crew as well as auditions for the 10-year-old lead role.
For further information or to learn more about volunteer opportunities, email caseyhusseyproductions@gmail.com.
“Pledges of support, word of mouth communication, and community efforts are what make shooting a film in a town like Hingham possible,” Casey said.
