The film bug bit Kee Heywood early. “At age 13,” Heywood recalls, “I got hold of the family camcorder and started fooling around with it.”

Encouraged by friends and family, Heywood became wrapped up in his new hobby. “We would always have (film) projects going. I’m not saying they were good. Actually, they were pretty terrible.”

Now 21, Heywood is a sophomore in filmmaking at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, taking courses in…