“I love sanctuaries; sanctuaries are awesome” senior Kelly Cool explained as she relayed how the intrepid InvenTeam earned second place at the Thunder Bay International Film Festival, held in late January.

A five-day contest draws filmmakers and students from across the glob to Alpena, Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron. The event, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and the Friends of the Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary, is regarded as one of the foremost film festivals with regard to short films about both the Great Lakes and the oceans.

In a competition that judged numerous short films and movies based on the theme of “Sanctuaries,” defined as sacred places or those of refuge or protection by the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, the team of four filmmakers incorporated the theme into their film by basing the production on their recent work using Remote Operated Vehicles or ROVs.

The film, named “Sanctuaries Are,” included scenes of the team looking for the consecrated wrecks of planes belonging to a World War II era all African-American unit known as the “Tuskegee Airmen” along the shore of Lake Superior.

In this way, they were looking for the sanctuaries of where the airplanes of downed military aircraft now reside.

The films produced by the team has impressed judges for years, taking first place in years past.

“We weren’t as happy to take second place, but we were happy we didn’t come in last,” Cool said.