Unlike the other film shorts before it — a whimsical, animated childhood nightmare turned sour reality with a young boy’s discovery of his parents going at it rough and tumble between the sheets; a tongue-in-cheek, Shaft-esque version of cops and robbers in which this time the cops and robbers are in cahoots to drive the tourists out of town — “The Tragedy of Glady” was not followed by laughter and murmurings of approval.

It was just ... quiet. Seconds passed. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Then, applause. It was good — that good. Good enough in fact to take first place in the Student Film category of the Asheville Film Festival held Oct. 27-30.

The win has turned a new corner in Franklin resident Sarah Crawford’s career as a film producer. Now, all of a sudden, it seems as though people are taking her more seriously — an irony considering “The Tragedy of Glady” already won the Audience Choice Award at the Starz First Look Student Film Festival in Denver, the premier film festival for university and graduate student filmmakers.

The film tells the story of a misunderstood young woman who depends on the acceptance of her best friend, Claire, for support. After the tragic death of Claire’s parents, she and Gladys begin to grow apart. In an attempt to reconnect and empathize with Claire, Gladys begins searching for a tragic event to call her own. Just when Gladys realizes she must change her ways and make amends with Claire, tragedy strikes again.

The film’s been shown in Spain and will appear at festival in Munich, Germany. But sometimes it just takes winning on the home turf to earn a little respect.

Crawford, 23, is a 2004 graduate of the N.C. School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. It was during her junior year of high school — after two years spent in home school — when she took a Film as Literature class that sparked her interest in the industry.

At the School of the Arts, Crawford studied every aspect of filmmaking including cinematography, directing, editing and sound, producing, production design and screenwriting.

“You make a movie every year that you’re there,” Crawford said.

The program is intensive to say the least, with portfolio reviews conducted at the end of every year. If instructors aren’t pleased with the work produced, students are cut.

“It’s a really big deal, you can’t miss any classes in your field,” Crawford said. “A lot of people leave because it’s so intense.”

Approximately 90 students enrolled at the same time as Crawford. Only about 30 graduated. Once in the film school, students narrow down their focus; however, it’s not about choosing a major, as it chooses you. Faculty must approve of a student’s course track.

“The producing teachers wanted me,” Crawford said.

The field’s focus on the overall aspects of movie making appealed to Crawford — controlling the money flow, supervising scheduling, managing the set day-to-day, knowing the legal mandates about working with Screen Actors Guild performers, children and animals.

But her heart lies with telling stories.

“I wouldn’t really ever want to be a big-time producer because I don’t love the business side of it all that much,” Crawford said.

Going back to her roots — literally and in the film-making sense — Crawford intends for her next project to be a documentary capturing mountain heritage.

“It is disappearing and nobody’s capturing it,” Crawford said.

Her hope is to team up with local 4-H students so that they would learn more about their community through conducting interviews with local historians and long-time residents.

Filming the documentary most likely will take two years — time Crawford is happy to spend in Franklin, both because as one of six children, she wants to be able to spend time with her youngest brother, and because traditional film towns leave a lot to be desired.

“I pretty much would rather wait tables in L.A. than work in the film industry in L.A.,” Crawford said.