Ben Kadie Films

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Ben to Receive Medal in White House Ceremony


May 6, 2013: The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, established in 1964 by executive order of the President, has designated Ben a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. The award, based on artistic and academic achievements, is the highest scholastic honor available to graduating high school seniors. The 20 Scholars in the Arts will join 121 other scholars to receive medals at a White House ceremony. Also, on Sunday, June 16, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will screen the films of the two Cinematic Arts winners: Ben's The Painted Girl and his friend Cameron Covell's The Most Beautiful Thing. The screening is free.

Seven Screenings in Six Days for The Painted Girl


April 22, 2013: The Painted Girl's biggest week of screenings starts on Friday. On that day, the film screens at the Toronto Student Film Fest, its second week in row in Canada.

On Saturday, the film plays the San Francisco International Film Festival. Last year SFIFF screened Secret Club and two years before that Sparks in the Night. Also, on Saturday, The Painted Girl will screens the Arizona International Film Festival in Tucson. Ben's grandparents will attend and have, they say, recruited many friends. Also, on Saturday, the film will play West Chester Film Festival (Pennsylvania) which last year showed Mack.

On Sunday, the film will screen at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Cast member Molly Berg, who now lives in Irvine, will attend. Last year, Secret Club played the festival. Two years before that Sparks in the Night won the festival's top youth award. In 2009, the festival showed A Friendly Game.

Also on Sunday, The Painted Girl plays National Film Festival for Talented Youth. This is 17-year-old Ben Kadie's record seventh year and eighth film in NFFTY. This screening will be the film's local première, so expect most of the cast and crew will be in attendance.

Finally, on Wednesday May 1st, the film screens at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on a program of short films about woman that "tells the beautiful, intricate, and even hilarious stories of women as they embark into the world of love, loss, and everything in between." This will be the film's first LGBT festival screening.
 

Ben Named YoungArts National Finalist for The Painted Girl and other Films

November 13, 2012: YoungArts, considered by many to be the most prestigious arts competition for young adults, has named Ben a National Finalist. The award includes a minimum $1000 scholarship. Also included is an all-expense-paid, January trip to Miami for YoungArts Week, a series of master classes and showcase performances. This year, of 10,000 applicants, 150 were selected via blind judging as National Finalists. Ben submitted his new film The Painted Girl along with clips from his previous film Alone Together.

This is Ben's first award from YoungArts and the first award for The Painted Girl. Ben's other national awards include five National Medals (two Gold, three Silver) from Scholastic Arts & Writing and, on the academic side, a National Merit Finalist designation.

(Newspaper article>)

College at USC!


April 13, 2013: I'm happy to report, I'll be attending the University of Southern California for Film/TV Production next year! (USC BFA)

Ben Kadie Films Poster

May 6, 2013: Free Download Details

The Seattle Times: "A Mini-Movie Master: A Former Winner of the 3-Minute Masterpiece Contest Goes on to Bigger Things"

By Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times movie critic

March 10, 2013: "Ben Kadie knew that he wanted to a filmmaker in the third grade. With a friend he started" ... More > (Image)

Ben Wins National Portfolio Award from Scholastic

March 16, 2013: The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers yesterday awarded a Scholastic National Silver Medal to a portfolio of eight of Ben's films. The portfolio included six previously-recognized films and two new ones: The Painted Girl and Soapbar Butterflies (an experimental film using puppets to dramatize an original slam poem). This marks Ben's fifth year to receive national honors from the Alliance. Three previous films earned National Silver Medals and two earned National Gold Medals.

This year, student artists submitted 230,000 works to Scholastic of which 1,900 received national awards. 171 seniors won Portfolio awards: 156 Silver Medals and 15 Gold Medals. The Alliance has given awards since 1923 to teens such as Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, and Robert Redford. The NY Observer wrote "Invasion of the Teenage Geniuses" about the June 2010 national award ceremony in NYC.

Raising Funds for New Film The Painted Girl

Updated Oct 10, 2012:

Thanks to everyone who helped us reach our funding goal!

I’m excited to tell the story of Megan – a closeted 15-year-old who runs away from her mother’s expectations and creates art in an abandoned subway tunnel. - Ben

Molly and the Masked Storm, my 8th-grade visual-effects-intensive adventure/comedy, is now free on the Internet

March 13, 2013: I filmed the summer before high school, then editing and effects unexpectedly took 14 more months. It’s screened at nine genre festivals including the 70th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and the Boston Sci Fi Film Festival’s Steampunk’d division. Looking back, I learned: 1) creating a magic Victorian world with effects takes a lot of time 2) don’t forget to think about what your story means before you film it.

Screenings & Awards (updated 5/19/2013)

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About

 
Ben Kadie is a 17-year-old senior 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. 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. The film World, US, & West Coast premièred at three festivals the weekend of April 20, 2012 and won the top youth prize at the acclaimed Nashville Film Festival.

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 will major in film/TV production at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

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