Alumnus Chris Campbell accepts the 1st Place Commercial award for “Maglite – Dreamweaver” at the 36th College Television Awards, presented by the Television Academy Foundation at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 23, 2015.

And the College Television Award for best commercial goes to….Art Center alumnus, Chris Campbell, for his Maglite—Dreamweaver spot, a heartwarming ad concept which features a father and son bonding while using the flashlight to make shadow puppets.

The Television Academy, which hosts the Emmy Awards, created The College Television Awards to offer film students a national platform to showcase their work and talent. Modeling itself on the Primetime Emmy judging process, entries are reviewed by active Television Academy members. With more than 1,100 students from 500 schools across the United States vying for a few slots it is also extremely competitive.

Before coming to Art Center to study film, Chris Campbell had pursued many other ventures in music, sports, skateboarding, biking and acting, to name a few. But nothing seemed to stick. He found himself drifting and unsure of his calling. While at community college he saw “The Fall” by distinguished Art Center Film alum Tarsem Singh. The experience changed his understanding of what a film could be and eventually lead him to study here. “It is a film that’s so stunningly visual – a real fairytale for adults. It’s one of my most striking memories and an experience that took me totally off-guard. I was just walking around saying to everybody, ‘You’ve got to see this!’”

His thesis film, Cade is the story of a father who works tirelessly to recreate his deceased son as a robot so that they may both have a second chance at life. He describes the experience of making the film as his most memorable.”The crew of ten peers was shacked up in the mountains.  We were all friends and colleagues in the beginning, but in the end we were damn close and we all made something we were proud of.  I have yet to find another set experience like that.”

Congratulations, Chris! Make sure you check out his winning spot.

Learn more about Chris at www.chriscampbellfilm.com