ANDOVER — Hector Paniagua, a former Lawrence High basketball star whose hopes of playing college ball ended with the bullet that paralyzed him from the waist down, was the main event at this year's Andover High School Reel Life Film Festival.

That was clear from the applause of more than 100 people who crammed into the school's TV studio at the Collins Center on Thursday night.

Three students unveiled a 17-minute documentary called "Hector," which featured how Paniagua has tried to rebuild his life after an Easter morning 2005 drive-by shooting. One of at least seven bullets fired from a car into a crowd outside a Lawrence nightclub struck Paniagua in the neck, striking a lung and his spinal cord.

"At Andover High, we still see a lot of the 'Hector's Team' shirts," longtime Andover High teacher Bill Drummond said as Paniagua, sitting in his wheelchair alongside family members, drew a thunderous ovation at the film's conclusion.

"The Andover legacy lives on with Hector," said Drummond, who has taught at the school nearly four decades.

A communitywide effort to support Paniagua and his family in the wake of the tragedy more than three years ago swept across the town line into Andover, where 'Hector's Team' T-shirts were worn by Andover High students in the school's own colors.

Brad Burkhard, the Andover High senior who directed and produced the documentary, said he was inspired to make Paniagua the subject of his class film project after noticing those T-shirts — and the outpouring of school support they represented.

"I saw the 'Hector' T-shirts and thought students at our school should know the story behind them," said Burkhard, who worked on the documentary with classmates Neil Callahan and Michael Lightbound.

Making the film

How to approach Paniagua — a likeable, but very private person who didn't seem to relish such attention — was a major hurdle the students knew they had to overcome. Andover High coach David Fazio told them how to contact Lawrence High School head basketball coach Paul Neal.

"I thought if he thought it was a good idea, I'd try it," recalled Paniagua, 21, now in his freshman year at Merrimack College.

Burkhard said Paniagua welcomed the student filming team into his home and allowed them to ask any question they wanted regarding his life and the challenges after the tragedy.

Also interviewed for the film was Lawrence High basketball Coach Neal, Paniagua's mother Nora Payne and other family members.

Andover High graduate (Class of 2006) Matt Colbert, now finishing his sophomore year in film and TV production at Emerson College, got a call last weekend to edit the film. He worked on it earlier this week, taking four hours of interview tape and one hour of basketball game film and condensing it into 17 minutes.

"This was a case of a film that we just finished 45 minutes ago," Andover High film teacher Richard Farrell told the audience before the film made its debut.

Farrell created the festival after being hired at Andover High about four years ago. Before becoming a teacher, he had an accomplished career in the filming industry — more than 10 years directing and writing films. In 1996, his work won a duPont Columbia Award for the HBO documentary "High on Crack Street." He also directed "The Legend of Chad," which won the top prize at the Woods Hole Film Festival in 2001.

Besides being the teacher overseeing the film project, Farrell also had a connection to Paniagua. When Paniagua and his family came to the U.S. from the Virgin Islands, they located in Lowell — Farrell's hometown. Paniagua also became a student in the sixth grade at the Butler School in Lowell — where he was taught by Farrell's mother.

It was Farrell's idea to end the documentary on a positive note and dramatic shot, with Paniagua headed out the front door of his home in his wheelchair.

"He's going off into the light — sort of 'we'll see what happens'," Farrell said.

In the closing moments of the documentary, Nora Payne offers an outlook on her son.

"He's doing good. He's driving. He's cooking," Payne said.

"His basketball friends come around. Now, they're playing Dominos," she said.

The future for the film ... and for Hector

Farrell is excited about the documentary, telling the audience, "It offers great insight into a great kid."

In an interview later, he adds he's confident that with future additions and editing, "I definitely think it could go some place."

"The tragedy affected a lot of people. You don't see many communities coming around altogether like what happened here. This has the potential to be a really powerful documentary. Right now, it's pretty good for a rough cut. It's something that could affect a lot of people," Farrell said.

Paniagua and his mother said they were pleased with the initial showing of the documentary

The former Lawrence High basketball star was visibly overwhelmed with the love that was showered on him at Andover High on Thursday night. These days, he's able to drive around in his Volvo and work toward a college degree.

"I'm trying to get into the swing of things, and take a few classes," said Paniagua, with no definite plans in mind in what he would do after graduation.

Payne said her son and the entire family have had to overcome some difficult hurdles in the days since the Easter shooting.

But her son and the rest of his family maintain a positive outlook that brighter days are ahead for Hector. An unrelenting faith has helped the family get through their ordeal.

"That's one of the reasons Hector is still here," Payne said.

"Maybe he can help other people in similar situations ... I would love to see him coach," she said.

The next chapters in the young man's life may also determine the future of the "Hector" documentary.

After seeing the documentary and knowing how much more there is to tell about her son's amazing comeback, Payne said she believes the possibilities of a future documentary are unlimited.

"A lot of people have shown their care and support for Hector," she said.

"He received a postcard all the way from China. We got an invitation to the White House. Tons of little kids wrote him letters while he was recovering," she said.

Documentary Excerpts

Nora Payne, Hector Paniagua's mother, reflecting on her worst nightmare: "I was planning to go to the Virgin Islands for my father's funeral ... Two O'clock in the morning, I got the call. Never made it to my father's funeral."

Lawrence High School head basketball Coach Paul Neal, on why Paniagua remains an inspiration to Lawrence High athletes because of a positive outlook: "He amazes me how he deals with the situation. He's taking it in stride ... If it was me, I'd be angry and bitter."