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Benjamin Bartlett

An introverted student with incredible deductive reasoning skills teams up with a spirited artist to help clear the name of their school's recently disgraced star athlete, who has been accused of vandalizing the school's newest mural.

'Benjamin Bartlett' stars Springs Christian Academy Grade 5 and 6 students and is a long-form film production project directed by an SCA alumnus, where students learned the basics of filmmaking.

'Benjamin Bartlett' is the first film in the 'Autumn Academy Trilogy', a series of connected films taking place in the same fictional school.

  • Tope Babalola
    Director
  • Tope Babalola
    Writer
  • Tope Babalola
    Producer
  • Kim Fuller
    Producer
  • Sam McCarthy
    Key Cast
    "Benjamin Bartlett"
  • Ashra Reimer
    Key Cast
    "Lydia Moore"
  • Riley Zantingh
    Key Cast
    "Jeremy Pitt"
  • Ava Manshanden
    Key Cast
    "Elaine Samuels"
  • Johnny Paryniuk
    Key Cast
    "Denver Adams"
  • Priya D'Souza
    Key Cast
    "Charlotte St. Germain"
  • Alex Desharnais
    Key Cast
    "Rex Simmons / Dex Simmons"
  • Joshua Sackmann
    Key Cast
    "Neil Hoffman"
  • Kaisha Nemetchek
    Key Cast
    "Naomi Lawrence"
  • Luke Kellington
    Key Cast
    "Colton Forester"
  • Wesley Meyer
    Key Cast
    "Mr. Prescott"
  • Project Type:
    Feature, Student
  • Genres:
    Family, Mystery/Suspense
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 31 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 22, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • African Movie Festival in Manitoba
    Winnipeg
    Canada
    March 15, 2019
    Film Festival Debut
    Official Selection
  • Springs Christian Academy Red Carpet
    Winnipeg
    Canada
    May 10, 2018
    Official Premiere
  • Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival
    Winnipeg
    Canada
    February 18, 2020
    Best Family Narrative Feature
Director Biography - Tope Babalola

Tope Babalola is a 22-year-old Manitoban filmmaker. Babalola has always been interested in film, television, and the creative process. At the age of six he began composing short stories, and between the ages of twelve and fifteen published three novels. His venture into filmmaking and editing began around age eleven with filming and editing home videos for personal entertainment. Babalola began to further his interest in film by taking film courses in high school, as well as post-secondary intensive film production programs.

Since 2016, Babalola has been writing, directing, editing, and producing feature-length films with the students of Springs Christian Academy (SCA), with 'Benjamin Bartlett' being his third feature of this kind. He recently completed SCA’s fourth feature, 'Popular Vote', and is currently in production on its fifth, 'Hall Monitors'.

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Director Statement

'Benjamin Bartlett' is a project where we push boundaries to see how much we can do with the little we have. With limited camera equipment, a shoestring budget, and well-done performances, our Springs Christian Academy students explore the basics of filmmaking and storytelling, while growing more confident in their own abilities as performers.