Georgia State Grad Making Waves in the “Star Wars” Universe_
Georgia State University[조지아주립대학교,국제학생장학금]
Sitting on the sofa in his Los Angeles apartment last month, Noel Braham happened to check his spam folder, and there it was: a long-awaited notification from the Star Wars Fan Film Awards. His film had made it to the contest’s final round.
An aspiring actor and filmmaker, Braham had written, directed, produced and starred in “Star Wars: Exile – Episode 1” months earlier. Together with his colleague Pokey Spears, he self-financed the 15-minute film, which features original costumes, sound, music and visual effects. Three months later, the video had 322,000 views on YouTube. Now it’s up against two dozen other films in Disney’s international competition.
He first got hooked on “Star Wars” when he was seven years old, after seeing “The Empire Strikes Back.”
“I fell in love with ‘Star Wars’ because it made think about my own purpose,” said Braham, who graduated from Georgia State in 2011. “What really captivated me about the franchise, each of the three main characters—Luke, Anakin and Rey—had such humble beginnings. They’re seemingly not supposed to do anything outside what their environment has called them to do, but they each knew they had a higher calling and purpose. Beyond the science fiction, the lightsabers and the blasters, the message is inspiring.”
His fan film is already opening doors. He’s been screening it across the country, from Los Angeles to New York to Atlanta. His work is being judged by influential industry professionals such as Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm.
At one screening, he was invited to audition for BET’s biopic on the R&B group New Edition and was later cast for the role of Ray Parker Jr., an American guitarist, songwriter and producer who wrote and performed the popular theme song for “Ghostbusters.” Filming begins this week.
He won’t have much time to recover before traveling to London next month for the “Star Wars” Fan Film Awards ceremony, where he hopes to win the 2016 Audience Choice Award and other honors.
Braham has worked hard to get there since his undergraduate days. He’s appeared in commercials for McDonald’s, Ford and Hewlett Packard, and started his own company, Noel Braham Entertainment. He also made a short comedy film, “The Side Chick,” which won four awards at Warner Bros. Studio’s LA Web Fest and was selected for the Rome Web Fest in Italy, where Braham and his team will be hosted for a screening in September.
In addition to his religious faith, Braham credits much of his success to The 1913 Society and the program’s adviser, Chandler Brown, who’s been a mentor to him.
“A lot of my success now is because of the foundation and framework Georgia State laid down in my life,” he said. “It continues to take me to places I would never dream of.”
Voting for the 2016 Star Wars Fan Film Awards ends Sunday, June 19 at 11:59 p.m. P.T
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