Keep an eye on this up-and-coming Vernon director

Bowen O’Brien is a 15-year-old Vernon filmmaker who continues to celebrate many directing and editing successes.

Vernon Community School Academy student Bowen O’Brien, who won Best film and Best story for his collaborative short with Brian Taylor “Adulthood” has returned from Los Angeles. O’Brien had been following the works of LA Director Danny Rimerez on a Vancouver Produced Star Wars Fan Film “Vadar”.

“Star Wars Theory’s Fan Film Vadar was an exciting project I had been following on YouTube for the year leading up to it’s December screening in LA. After sending in an audition to be a Jedhi and not hearing back, I decided to follow up with Danny to see if I could come to LA and learn how he directs,” said O’Brien.

“To have the confidence at 15 years to start a conversation and negotiation with an LA Director is remarkable. To then put all the pieces together and make it actually happen is beyond my imaginings. ” said his mother, Michelle O’Brien.

Only a month after O’Brien came back from LA he was asked by Indigenous film maker from Hadai Gwaii, Patrick Shannon, to assist him on a shoot in Ottawa. The pair had met originally in Kamloops during a Telus funded “Storyhive” filmmaking workshop. They hit it off and have since completed an Ottawa Powershift documentary about Youth and Climate change in February, now plan on meeting later this Spring to collaborate on a short independent film.

“Being a student of VCSA has definitely allowed me the freedom and support to pursue my passion as well as holding me accountable for collecting and assessing what I’ve learned from my Film based projects,” Bowen said.

Anyone interested in following O’Brien’s works can follow his YouTube channel Bowen O’Brien Show, where he currently has 2,300 subscribers.

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Vernon Morning Star