Benjamin Taylor is shown using camera equipment in the Media Arts program at Mississippi School of the Arts. Young filmmakers are trained and encouraged to enhance creative thinking skills.
Benjamin Taylor, a junior MSA Media Arts student from Saltillo, Mississippi, has received Best Student Film award in the B52 Film Challenge, an event sponsored by Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. Benjamin will receive a $2,000 scholarship to the film program at Belhaven.
The Belhaven 52 Hour Film Challenge asks filmmakers to write, shoot, edit and upload a short film in just 52 hours. High school students had only one week to complete the challenge.
According to a press release by Belhaven News, “B52 is not a competition, but a challenge,” said Rick Negron, chair and assistant professor of film production. “We want to challenge people to create something new, then we want to celebrate with them by providing the opportunity to see their work on a big screen.”
“I had a great time at the B52 festival,” said Benjamin Taylor. “I really enjoyed having my film play, but I especially enjoyed meeting all of the other film makers and watching their works! It was a wonderful community and gathering of beautiful minds! It also meant a lot to me to have my parents there too. They took the day off to be there with me and it meant the world to me to have them by my side, winning or not,” he added.
Adjudicated selections in high school, college, and adult/non-school categories were shown on a cinema screen at Malco Grandview Cinema in Madison, Mississippi.
Click here for more information about the B52 challenge at Belhaven University’s Film Production Department.
The Media Arts discipline program is one of six fine art programs at Mississippi School of the Arts. Talented students from all over Mississippi receive advanced instruction in the arts, taking what they’ve learned from the residential high school to colleges and universities across the country.