Caten Hyde and Aaron Pennywell grew up together, playing baseball and going to Boy Scouts in Lafayette, La.

Even after the Pennywell family moved to the Houston suburbs, the two kept in touch. But in the early morning hours of June 25, 2011, Pennywell was on his way home from grabbing a late night burger near his Cypress home when his Mustang was slammed into by a van. The man behind the wheel had a blood alcohol level of .241, three times the legal limit.

Everyone who knew and loved Aaron was devastated. The Pennywell family, parents Dennis and Kae and his brother Jack, didn’t want anyone else to have to go through the pain of losing a loved one because of one bad decision to drink and drive. They began speaking at churches, schools and community events, bringing the crushed remains of Aaron’s Mustang with them as a sober warning.

Then Kae had an idea. If they could make a film, Aaron’s story would reach an even wider audience. She turned to her son’s longtime friend, Caten, who was honing his filmmaking skills at TCU where he is a senior majoring in Film Television and Digital Media.

“She just wanted a way to further tell Aaron’s story in a visual way, to encourage people to plan ahead and not drink and drive,” Hyde says.

He quickly went to work, bringing together family films and photos and adding footage from the police squad car’s camera and audio of the 911 calls from that fateful night.

The result is the documentary “1:36,” named after the exact time Pennywell was killed that fateful night.

“With this documentary you really get a chance to know Aaron and really feel his family and friends’ pain after he was killed by a drunken driver,” he says.

The film made its debut March 16 in Pennywell’s hometown with his parents there for the red-carpet event held at Cypress United Methodist Church.

Now Hyde is hitting the film festival circuit, and “1:36” was shown in March as part of the Glen Rose Neo-Relix Film Festival about 45 minutes southwest of Fort Worth. Anmong 30 films at the festival, Caten’s won The Rellie for 2013 Texas Film of the Year.

“Aaron’s wrecked car will be there at the car show that is held in conjunction with the film festival,” Hyde says. “Aaron’s parents and I will be out there all day and have been asked to speak after each screening. The Sommerville County Sheriff’s Department will also be giving a presentation before the 1:30 screening, allowing patrons to drive a golf cart on a course with “beer goggles” on to demonstrate the dangers of drinking and driving.”

Hyde’s film will also screen on Monday, April 15, 2013, at 7 p.m. at the Worldfest- Houston International Film Festival as part of the Texas Shorts Showcase.

On the Web:

“1:36” trailer:

Kathryn Hopper’s interview with Caten Hyde: