Former City College student Daniel Lahr is a shining star in his hometown of Santa Barbara, as the winning filmmaker of the 10-10-10 Competition at the 23rd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Before beginning the award-winning film “The Metal Detector Man,” Lahr received his associate of arts degree in film production from City College. Eager to make a great film, Lahr and his cast began production January 2008.

 In the midst of production, Lahr began to pursue his bachelor degree in motion picture and television at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Written by Collin Insley, “The Metal Detector Man” sheds light on a new way of illustrating old film charm. During the 10-day long project, Lahr, with his cast and crew, gave a fresh perspective to what moviegoers anticipated on the big screen.

 Lahr’s recent win at the festival exemplifies the family-like nature his cast and crew embodied during production.

“We are all family,” Lahr explained. “I would not have won if it was not for everyone’s help.”

Looking to gain a larger network of like-minded people, Lahr hoped his love for storytelling would further develop in a city full of inspiration such as San Francisco.

 Even at an early age, Lahr knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. Lahr believes that as a profession, filmmaking is everything he would ever want. Located in Los Alamos on Lahr’s family ranch, Country Studios was formed after several years of moviemaking.

The movie studio has the precise ingredients that Lahr strives to embed into each of his films that leave the audience wanting more.

“Working with Daniel is always a blast, he has a terrific eye for editing and directing,” said the theatre arts production chair Richard Mokler, who worked with Lahr on the film.

 For Lahr, seeing his film on the big screen was “out of this world.”

Click play to view Lahr’s award-winning short film “The Metal Detector Man” in its entirety.