The Song Not Sung: Student Voices Inspired by ‘The Singers’ (2025)

Karyna Paviglianiti-Karpova (8th grade):  After watching an Oscar-winning short film ‘The Singers’ (2025), the students did creative writing from the perspective of  someone who almost participated in the singing contest but decided not to.

It was a simple evening, dark skies and dull stillness. My friends were too eager to drag me into this club because apparently they said they would not go without me. It was a karaoke club. People had fun, chatted and took turns singing. They were all some wealthy  businessmen or just some carefree lads who went there to have fun. Me? I was neither, and definitely had better things to do. I sipped from my mug. My friends enjoyed a pint each, but I was in no mood that day. Yet, here is what you call a ‘catch’. I am sick when a guitar gets into my hands. Just give me a reason to sing or play - and I indeed could perform a whole ballad to you. Just … not on that day. I sat there, occasionally letting out a dull chuckle at an old joke of my buddy. I did not like it there … but to be far I did not want my friends to know. So I sat .. like a boring killjoy among honest lads who were trying to enjoy their Friday night. That’s when … an old fella walked up the middle and announced: ‘Ahoy! Need a nice fella with a guitar here! Anyone?!’ My friends had their eyes on me. Me? I got up and nodded, ‘Gotta go - work calls.’ And with that,  I slipped out through the doorway.

Sophia Manuel (10th grade): After watching an Oscar-winning short film ‘The Singers’ (2025), the students shared on paper all the emotions and thoughts the movie provoked in them. 

Often unexpected things bring people together - one of those things is music. What started as a dare for some cash and free drinks, ended as an intimate moment between the men in the bar. When the seemingly cold and unwelcoming men started to sing, one by one, they shared their emotional stories with each other through songs. As each sang, another gathered the courage to join in, too.

The men could open their ‘shells’ in which they hid emotions and concerns, and finally let go of the pressure. Such moments are rare as people tend to hide feelings not to get hurt but in this movie such a moment is captured where people with usually strong demeanor can let themselves be vulnerable.

Sylvester Petkov (10th grade): During creative writing, the students were asked to transform raw impressions into polished details thereby practising sensory writing (sound, smell, touch and sight). Sylvester additionally incorporated his knowledge from Forensic science classes, writing an intriguing piece that serves as the opening scene of a crime investigation. 

On a rainy Tuesday night, at 8:32 pm, me and my team were on our way to the crime scene of the infamous ‘Code Killer’. He was so hard to catch, almost undetectable, that we still had not caught his identity but this could have been our chance. We entered the apartment and saw the most wicked and gut-wrenching crime scene any investigator had ever witnessed. There was a sheet of paper taped on their forehead, displaying a complex prompt of a code. I could hear the police sirens wailing like a child, all surrounding the scene. The scene smelled like old debris and dry blood. It also smelled very metallic. Windows were shattered, furniture was thrown and the whole room looked as if a natural disaster had occurred. The room resembled a painting of smeared blood and dust. There were muddy shoe prints all over the floor. The case had been cold for three years  now but with this new evidence we were one step closer to the end of this murders’ massacre.