Student's Film Sees International Success

Sean Cruse, of Melville, is a college senior making international waves in the movie-making business.

The graduate's animated film, "Refresh," which he created with two classmates at Huntington University, a Christian college in Indiana, will be featured at five film festivals across the United States and Canada.

The Toronto International Student Animation Festival announced today that it will feature Cruse's film.  

“Refresh” deals with the disparity between people who are privileged and those who live without. Without delving into politics, the film asks audiences to take a hard look at how people use limited resources and if there is any way to help those with less. 

“I came up with the idea after feeling a need in my heart to help those without clean water,” Cruse said in a press release. “Water is essential for life, and I believe in Jesus' teachings to help those in need.” 

Cruse's animated film will be screened at the Stop Motion Magazine Film Festival in Los Angeles, Calif., the Philadelphia Film and Animation Festival in Philadelphia, Pa., the Toronto International Student Animation Festival in Toronto, Canada, the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, Kan. and the Columbus International Film and Video Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

“Making festival pieces was one of the goals we set for ourselves when building the digital media arts program,” his professor Steve Leeper, associate professor of digital media arts. “It has taken a few years, but we're finally starting to see films like ‘Refresh’ reach a wider audience. This is a significant milestone for us. We tell our students from the beginning that being an artist and finding an audience is what we do now not just something to think about off in the future. Sean, Ben and Matt are making that statement true. We're very proud of them.”