Some students dream of vacations to Hollywood and France, but for UA student Alex Beatty, these dreams came true, thanks to his love and talent for filmmaking.
Beatty was selected to show his short film “Here and Now” at the prestigious 2012 Cannes Film Festival in France this summer.
Beatty’s film showcases the story of an “emotionally-detached teenager” and his journey to better his life following the death of his mother. The five-minute film won Best Drama at UA’s Campus MovieFest and, in addition to the Cannes Film Festival, will be shown at a Hollywood competition in two weeks.
Beatty, an upcoming junior majoring in telecommunication and film, developed his interest in filmmaking at an early age.
“I always kind of had an interest in film when I was little, trying to just play around with video cameras and doing little short things with my neighbors and friends,” Beatty said. “I started to get more involved in live production – like concerts and making music videos, just with friends and other local bands, I guess – my freshman year of college.”
Beatty said his access to the University’s equipment and involvement in Campus MovieFest propelled his interest in filmmaking. Last year, Beatty entered a music video, “A Certain Woman,” in the Campus MovieFest and won his first trip to Hollywood. The video was made for a local band and is a dramatic piece telling the story of an emotionally and physically abused woman who overcomes her hardships.
After winning Best Drama at Campus MovieFest this year, Beatty was one of 22 students chosen out of 105,000 international submissions to attend the Cannes Film Festival. This was the first year student filmmakers were invited to the festival.
“It was an amazing experience,” Beatty said. “That was my first time in Europe. We were right on the beach, right on the coastline. Our hotel and the whole festival was right there, too, just right down the street on the coast.”
Beatty’s experience in Cannes also allowed him the opportunity to network with other filmmakers, take part in special workshops with directors and even walk the red carpet with Hollywood heavyweights like Brad Pitt and Steven Spielberg.
Laura Willoughby, an actress in “Here and Now” and a senior majoring in fashion merchandising, said she had a great experience filming Beatty’s movie. Willoughby said she was new to filming but had fun participating in it, even though she did not get to travel to Cannes with Beatty.
Beatty still has two more years at UA and admits that although it presents a problem with self-promotion to directors and job opportunities, he is optimistic. In fact, Beatty said he hopes to return to the Cannes Film Festival.
“Hopefully, I can end up going back again next year because that’s kind of my goal,” Beatty said.
While in school, Beatty works with the University’s film department making many of UA’s commercials. He did a documentary on the April 27 tornado called “The Face of the Storm.”
Beatty also owns a production company, Project One Studios, that is based out of his hometown of Orlando, Fla. Beatty said the production company is more of a summer project where he works on everything from promotional videos for corporations to weddings.
“I can do a lot more projects, but I don’t really know where I’m going to go with that, depending on what I end up doing in the actual film industry,” Beatty said. “But, if anything, it’s just a side production company that I’ve got going for me right now.”
As for future plans, Beatty said he is focused on his film for next year’s Campus MovieFest.
