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.
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Tope BabalolaDirector
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Tope BabalolaWriter
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Tope BabalolaProducer
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Kim FullerProducer
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Sam McCarthyKey Cast"Benjamin Bartlett"
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Ashra ReimerKey Cast"Lydia Moore"
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Riley ZantinghKey Cast"Jeremy Pitt"
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Ava ManshandenKey Cast"Elaine Samuels"
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Johnny ParyniukKey Cast"Denver Adams"
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Priya D'SouzaKey Cast"Charlotte St. Germain"
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Alex DesharnaisKey Cast"Rex Simmons / Dex Simmons"
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Joshua SackmannKey Cast"Neil Hoffman"
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Kaisha NemetchekKey Cast"Naomi Lawrence"
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Luke KellingtonKey Cast"Colton Forester"
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Wesley MeyerKey Cast"Mr. Prescott"
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Project Type:Feature, Student
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Genres:Family, Mystery/Suspense
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Runtime:1 hour 31 minutes 43 seconds
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Completion Date:April 22, 2018
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Production Budget:500 USD
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Country of Origin:Canada
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Country of Filming:Canada
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes
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African Movie Festival in ManitobaWinnipeg
Canada
March 15, 2019
Film Festival Debut
Official Selection -
Springs Christian Academy Red CarpetWinnipeg
Canada
May 10, 2018
Official Premiere -
Winnipeg Real to Reel Film FestivalWinnipeg
Canada
February 18, 2020
Best Family Narrative Feature
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'.
'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.