NYIT-Bahrain students who produced the film Silveraven donated box office profits to the Bahrain Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization.

Many young filmmakers dream of box office success and the financial rewards that follow, but for students at NYIT-Bahrain, profit has a different purpose.

“We wanted to give to our country,” says filmmaker Hala Alawiat, who played the lead role in the student-produced film, Silveraven, which premiered at Bahrain’s Seef Mall Cineplex in May. Proceeds from the sold-out screenings benefited the Bahrain Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization that is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The importance of community service was not lost on the cast and crew, says the film’s director, Samar Osama Karkar (B.F.A. ’12). She and her team also sold DVDs of an accompanying student-produced music video to boost their charitable donation.

On June 28, NYIT-Bahrain Campus Dean Suzanne White, Ph.D., presented a check for 1,000 Bahraini dinars ($2,652 U.S.) to the executive director of the Bahrain Red Crescent Society, who in turn awarded the filmmakers honorary membership in the society.

“NYIT is the only institute in Bahrain to produce feature-length movies that not only help students learn the challenges of filmmaking but also support a good cause,” says NYIT Assistant Professor Zeeshan J. Shah, faculty supervisor of the Silveraven project.

In 2009, Shah conceptualized Special Projects B, a filmmaking course in which students could take the skills and techniques they learned in computer graphics classes and create feature-length productions. Silveraven is NYIT-Bahrain’s third student-produced film.

“Their efforts showed the whole region that there are young talents in the world who can go beyond their abilities,” adds Shah. “Hopefully, they can motivate others to do the same.”

More Campus Buzz

Vol. 10 No. 3 Table of Contents