Riley is the coming-of-age story of a closeted high school football player discovering his identity. The story is strongly-based on writer, director and editor Benjamin Howard's high school years playing football. "While I was playing, I was struggling internally with with my identity, with my sexuality," Howard said. "From some of that struggling came a lot of shame about who I was as a person, who I was as an athlete, even." It's personal to Howard's life experiences, but also to San Diego. Howard said the film is like a love letter to his upbringing in East County. Some scenes in the film were located in places authentic to where the moments took place in Howard's life. FULL STORY: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/san-diego-based-film-wins-8-awards-east-county-upbringing/509-5497c344-449e-4ce4-b0aa-dfcf0911efb9