After evacuating his home during the Palisades Fire, online film student Bennett Curran was compelled to return and start filming the effects.
When he saw the Hollywood Hills go up in flames, he knew what he needed to do.
“I just had this feeling that I needed to get back and start documenting the effects,” he said. After evacuating from his home, Curran turned right back around and spent a week filming on 16mm film.
“It was consistently 3 a.m. at night, and then I would get up and film,” he said.
He said he was lucky that his home, located in between the Palisades and Eaton Fires, was unaffected by the fires, but “everyone knows at least someone who lost everything, and that was just devastating.”
For Curran, staying behind wasn’t an option.
“I would have no escape,” he said.
Curran, a senior at the School of Theatre Film & Television, is earning an online BA degree in film and television. He always wanted to make a documentary for his senior thesis, but now he knew that documentary would center on the fires.
“I didn’t know that I was making a film at the time, but I just knew that I needed to go and film,” he said. “Then afterwards, I was like, ‘Oh, this is the film.’”
During the week he spent filming, he spoke with police and the National Guard, saying the conversation and the experience shaped his outlook on life.
“… Just seeing how much grander life is and my own perspective,” he said.
Climate Emergencies
He wants the message of his senior thesis to focus on compassion in climate emergencies.
“The main impact I’m trying to have with the film is to inspire people to use their hands, help the community and come together in states of crisis,” he said.
To help finish the film, he’s applying for the College of Fine Arts Small Grants, as well as other University of Arizona grants.
“He’s just super creative. He makes things work outside of the box,” said Nicole Koschmann, director of the Arizona Online Film and Television program.
Koschmann said Curran is taking an independent study with her to complete the film for his thesis.
“(The independent study is) just something to give the project a little structure and to have that support,” she said.
Koschmann said the study serves as a form of communication. She posts grant opportunities and links to films that Curran can use as references for styling his documentary.
“She was able to get references that have helped guide the way that I do the film,” he said.
Curran originally started in the BFA acting program. He switched to the online film and television program his sophomore year when he landed a role in his first movie, “Afraid,” and moved to Los Angeles.
“Then the actors strike hit … and I had just moved out here,” he said. “So for about a year, I had not much else to do other than find a new passion in film.”
Through the online program, he said he’s been able to take classes at his own pace and build a curriculum tailored to his interests.
Flourishing
During this time, Curran made his first film with his friend and classmate Harrison Cable, called “Horse Head.”
“We just decided on a whim to put this film together, and we’re still waiting on decisions from festivals,” he said.
In addition to his films, Curran is set to star in a TV show called “Criminal,” airing this year on Amazon Prime Video, and in a movie called “California State.” He also started his own production company, Flourishing, where he produces videos for brand deals.
“I feel like I’m not living to my fullest extent if I’m not creating,” he said. “It’s about capturing the human existence the way that it is.”
Curran always had the itch to perform, saying art is a way to connect with others. No matter where life takes him, he plans to keep creating.
“There’s something so raw and vulnerable that I find in other people’s art that reminds me what the point of living is,” he said.