Senior Ben Searle’s short film, “Niche,” won two awards at the Toronto Student Film Festival – the CBC Documentary Channel Award for Best Documentary, as well as the Vistek Award for Best Cinematography.
“Ben is a great student, and I’m very happy for his achievement,” said Associate Professor Phil Hastings, for whose class Searle created the film. “It takes some effort beyond the expected to follow through with this type of pursuit, and I believe when students take these actions, it indicates a willingness to engage in their education and professional growth. Too often course work done by students has no context other than it being an assignment, but artists and filmmakers have these wonderful opportunities to see how it is received through real world settings such as festivals or gallery shows,” added Hastings.
Hastings went on to note that professionals’ appreciation and acknowledgment often act as a strong incentive for students to continue their hard work and effort, as well as validate the work of the film and video arts program at Fredonia.
Searle, a senior in the Department of Visual Arts and New Media from Randolph, created “Niche” in his advanced experimental video class. He identifies his film as “an exploration into a hidden, nearly microscopic world. In this hidden corner of the world, I hope to reveal some small amount of beauty to the viewer that they would have likely stepped [on] instead of seeing.”
He is currently working on his capstone project, which, like “Niche,” explores elements of the microscopic natural world. He hopes this project will aid in improving his filmmaking techniques and refine his storytelling abilities. Searle hopes to ultimately pursue a career as a cinematographer, as well as produce and shoot nature documentaries.
The 2014 Toronto Student Film Festival received approximately 250 entries, 70 percent of which were international. The executive committee prescreened these entries and then selected 21 finalists. The 21 films were then curated by the guest jurors, including director Sarah Goodman, who is one of the executive producers of “Gossip Girl;” Maxine Bailey, vice president of Advancement at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Professor Kass Banning of the Film Studies program at the University of Toronto.
The Toronto Student Film Festival was founded in 2006 to promote and showcase the work that young filmmakers are creating around the world. The festival takes place at the University of Toronto in the Isabel Bader Theater, where winners in 13 categories are awarded prizes ranging from cash to film programs to scholarships.
Searle’s awards included a total of $500 cash and a subscription to the Celtx screenwriting software. “Niche” was the first of his films to win an award. The film, which has a running time of about three and a half minutes, can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/82112056.
