As a kid, all Rand Courtney had was passion for a hobby that would later turn him into an award-winning director. The Lexington native came home to the Midlands last month to screen his latest film, “La Lucha: Getting Schooled in America.”

The film won two awards during the Freedom Film festival on Sunday, Aug. 27, named best feature and best documentary. The film has now received 16 awards since its release earlier this year.

“La Lucha” follows five at-risk students in Pacoima, Los Angeles as they overcome the obstacles of a broken education system in a neighborhood that has been stricken by poverty and crime.

After struggling in public education, the students began studying with Learn4Life, a nonprofit program that allows students to be flexible and complete high school using a one-on-one approach rather than being in an overpacked classroom.  

Courtney was initially approached by Learn4Life to create corporate promotional footage, but after learning more about the students in the program, he changed his direction to a documentary that would portray they’re resilient stories.

“When I was interviewing some of the students, I just thought their stories were incredible,” Courtney told the Chronicle. “We started to collaborate on good ideas to tell their stories and they mentioned the documentary.”

The film initially only had a half an hour run time but after tragedy hit the students Courtney was documenting, both filmmakers and the subjects knew the film had so much more potential. 

“We made a 30 minute version and it was really good, but then something happened,” Courtney said. “I don’t wanna spoil it, but that caused the need for a longer form documentary to be made.” 

The film was then turned into a more-than-hour-long feature documentary. 

“La Lucha,” which means “the fight” in Spanish, tackles the truth behind Pacoima’s poverty stricken neighborhood and the impacts that neglectful public school systems have on students across the U.S.

“We made this movie to bring light into what’s happening in our schools,” said Ann Abajian, the vice president of communications at Learn4Life.

Courtney and Learn4Life brought the film to Columbia, holding a private showing at the Nickelodeon Theatre. 

“La Lucha” is expected to be released to streaming platforms in early 2024.

After the showing, Courtney entertained the audience with a short Q&A that started with him unbuttoning his shirt to reveal a Lexington High School T-shirt. 

Courtney started his career at the Village Square Theatre in downtown Lexington, where he studied and acted for most of his life before deciding to go behind the camera as a director and producer.

“I was born and raised in Lexington County. And I think back then Lexington was just a farm town. I mean, it was like one restaurant,” the Lexington High alum said. “It was very rural and so, you know, there wasn’t a lot to do. Even though there’s not a lot going on, I still was able to find a hub of creativity and find people who were interested in making art.”