Teen Activist’s Battle in Casper Catches the Eye of a Young Florida Filmmaker

The original story by Dale Killingbeck for Cowboy State Daily.

A Casper high school senior’s rocky road to launching a Turning Point USA Club America chapter is now inspiring a budding filmmaker 2,000 miles away — and may soon become the subject of a short film.

And yes, strangely enough, ChatGPT played matchmaker.

Aidan Fridman, a 19-year-old Florida filmmaker and founder of Idea2Result, said he wanted to create a short film about a student who tried to start a Turning Point USA chapter and hit a wall. Originally, he imagined a boy as the protagonist.

Then he asked ChatGPT for help.

“One of the people it recommended was Kylie,” he said.

That’s Natrona County High School senior Kylie Wall, who made headlines earlier this fall when she fought pushback from teachers, students and even her principal while trying to launch her TPUSA Club America chapter. Wall said her passion for the club was fueled by the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.

Her persistence — and the backlash she encountered — began resonating far beyond Wyoming. Students, parents and conservatives across the country have praised her for standing firm.

Wall’s efforts didn’t come without turbulence. Earlier this year, she said her principal instructed her not to speak with reporters on or off campus and discouraged her from representing her club at events. Teachers and students were sometimes openly hostile.

Even now, she still faces occasional confrontation.

“Today I actually had a student try to square up with me in the stairwell,” Wall said. “They’ve screamed at me before and said my club is awful.”

But she also says things have improved, thanks in part to public scrutiny and a school board discussion in October. Her principal has since been cooperative, she said, and the club — with about a dozen regular members — is “doing good right now.”

Fridman discovered Wall after spotting a Facebook comment from her grandmother on Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s page. He contacted Wall, interviewed her, and eventually flew her to Florida to participate in a proof-of-concept video titled “My Turning Point: Kylie Wall, Episode 1.”

The four-minute video features an actress portraying Wall. The scenes dramatize key moments: Wall watching the news about Charlie Kirk’s death, battling harassment at school, addressing the school board and struggling with fear and conviction.

“There are a ton of stories like Kylie’s that should be told,” Fridman said.

His goal is to pitch the finished project to conservative media outlets such as The Daily Wire or Turning Point USA itself. If that doesn’t pan out, he’ll release it independently on YouTube.

Fridman hopes to raise $60,000 for the full 30-minute short film. He has already launched a GoFundMe and secured a professional cinematographer and technical crew in Jacksonville. If fundraising goes well, filming could begin in January.

He has experience — he’s currently shooting concept material for a separate $10 million project — and plans to hire a professional scriptwriter and actors for Wall’s story.

The final film will be “inspired by true events,” he said, though some elements may be dramatized.

Fridman says he relates to Wall. He remembers being ostracized for his conservative views at a Chicago-area high school during the pandemic.

“You walk onto these campuses and see all this craziness and think you’re in the minority,” he said. “But in reality, you are in the majority.”

He believes Wall’s story reflects what many teens experience but are afraid to talk about — and he wants the film to highlight that.

Wall, for her part, is taking the sudden attention in stride.

“It’s crazy,” she said, “but if my story helps other students feel like they’re not alone, then it’s worth it.”

The film project is still in development — but if it makes it to the screen, a little Wyoming grit could soon be spotlighted nationwide.