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Alone Together Finished & Production Photos

Jan 7, 2012: The film is complete and submitted to several festivals with the hope of premièring in Spring! Meanwhile, here are production photos from August 7, the first day of shooting, on location at the tugboat Arthur Foss and Seattle Country Day School.

Alone Together Storm Scene

November 11, 2011: Ben has posted the Storm Scene from ALONE TOGETHER. It is the first scene in the film, which Ben is working to finish by Christmas for festivals. (YouTube 03:58)

Molly and the Masked Storm Named "Best Under-18 Film" at Shriekfest

October 6, 2011: On Sunday, Shriekfest (The Los Angeles International Horror/SciFi Festival) held its awards show. For the first award of the evening, Festival director (and Hollywood actress) Denise Gossett announced:

"...[the] winner of the Best Under-18 Film goes to Ben Kadie for his film 'Molly and the Masked Storm'! Ben couldn't make it because he is 16-years-old and he lives in Washington. He made that movie when he was 14. He ROCKS. You better watch out for this kid." (YouTube 03:15)(photo)

 

The popular Shriekfest is LA's longest running genre festival. Molly and the Masked Storm is a Victorian fantasy-adventure that tells the story of a stage magician (played by Camilla Franklin) struggling to protect the powers of Merlin. Ben and his friends filmed in the summer between eighth grade and high school. Ben then worked more than a year on the editing and computer-generated special effects. The film premiered in June in the Student Block of the Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF). The film's web page contains a trailer, stills, and production photos.

Secret Club to Screen at the Vancouver International Film Festival and Beyond

Secret Club will screen twice as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival/Reel Youth (October 12 & 13) and then tour Canada and the world. In 2009, when Sparks in the Night was a selection, the tour screened in more than 30 places including Nepal and Ireland. [Reel Youth trailer including Secret Club].

Mack Named "Best Student Film" by Rainier Independent Film Festival

June 7, 2011: “Mack” screened at the Rainier Independent Film Festival last weekend. Competing with college films, “Mack” was named “Best Student Film”. Ben, the festival's youngest filmmaker, had a great time with the other filmmakers, filmgoers, and local press.  [Pictures]

Bellevue Scene: "Local Filmmaker Continues His Coming of Age Story"

October 2011: "Ben Kadie’s age shows on screen.[... The] 16-year-old junior at Interlake High School is growing up, and the evidence of that can be seen in his latest film. Kadie is in the midst of shooting his most mature, hard-hitting film yet, Alone Together." ... More ›"

Horror.com reviews Molly and the Masked Storm

Sept 20, 2011: Staci Layne Wilson of Horror.com reviewed Shriekfest film "Molly and the Masked Storm". Excerpt: "... I must say… I was suitably impressed!" ... More >

High School Uses Mack to Teach "Macbeth"

March 7, 2011: Last week, students at Quilcene High School used Slugco's "Mack" to learn about Shakespeare's "Macbeth." English teacher Jeff Youde had students demonstrate a deeper understanding of the characters, images, and themes of "Macbeth" by comparing and contrasting "Macbeth" and "Mack." The students picked one scene, for example, the death of Duncan, and made a visual representation of the two versions. "It was pretty amazing," reports Mr. Youde. "It was also great to know that the filmmaker was a student, about their age, who lives in our area."

Interested in a free DVD of "Mack" for classroom use? Send email to sluggy@slugco.com

Thanks! Alone Together Fully Funded

Sept 20, 2011: 60 days of fund raising for "Alone Together" ended today with $1,670. This completely covers the $1,030 production cost and provides a budget for music licensing and festival fees. Thanks to all 31 donors. Your generosity is much appreciated. (The second to last donation came from Casey Margolis, who played Young Seth is "Superbad".)


The film, which stars Seattle area actors Asher Jordan and Brianna Massie, finished filming in August. Editing and special effects work will take about six months. A 91-second teaser trailer and preliminary stills are on the film's new web page.

Couchfest gives Ben their Lifetime Award

Oct 18, 2011: Couchfest announced today that their 2011 Lifetime Award will go to 16-year-old Ben Kadie. The festival screened Ben's Secret Club in Reykjavik (Iceland) and Seattle on September 24th. The festival hosts its screenings in people's homes -- a system they call "awkwardly awesome". Ben is the only filmmaker to be selected for Couchfest twice. Last year his Sparks in the Night screened and was selected for "Best of Couchfest". When notifying Ben of the award, Festival director Craig Downing said "We doubt this will be the last Lifetime Award you receive. Of course, we will be a little proud that we gave it to you before anyone else."

Fall & Winter Screenings & Awards (updated 12/13/2011)

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Old news: Year-by-Year Archive ...
 

About

Ben Kadie is a 16-year-old junior attending Interlake High School in Bellevue, Washington.

Ben started making films while a third grader at Seattle Country Day School. By eighth grade, four of his films had screened as far away as Nepal and won two dozen awards including a trip to LA and "Best Youth Film" at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Between 8th grade and high school, Ben filmed MOLLY AND THE MASKED STORM (2010) which the LA International Horror/SciFi Film Festival (Shriekfest) named “Best Under 18 Film”. The next summer, Ben filmed MACK (2011), a film inspired by Macbeth that teachers have used in English and arts classes. The Rainier Independent Film Fest also named it “Best (College or High School) Student Film“. As a sophomore, Ben created  SECRET CLUB (2011) which Ben says "captures both my love and my frustration with high school clubs”. It has earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from Couch Fest and more than a dozen screenings including screenings in Guam, Iceland, and Warsaw.

Last summer, Ben filmed ALONE TOGETHER, a story of shipwrecks and love, which he is now editing. Via open auditions, Ben found great local actors including leads Asher Jordan and Bria Lynn Massie. By raising about $1500 on the Internet, Ben was able to license professional music and to shoot two days on location near Deception Pass State Park. Ben hopes to premier the 24-minute film this spring.

When not working on films, Ben is in the International Baccalaureate program at his high school, very active in drama, and co-president of the school improv club. Outside of his school, Ben speaks about the importance of art education at other schools, school board meetings, and film events. After high school, he plans to pursue a university film degree.

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