London, Ont. brothers Andrey and Dmitriy Sarumyan made history by becoming the first students from Saint André Bessette Catholic Secondary School to sweep two major titles at the Forest City Youth Film Festival. “We always wanted to do a short film about action,” said Andrey. “Suspense and adventure.” The short film, 1440 Minutes, won best overall film and most enterprising film. “It has a small budget,” said Dmitriy. “You can compare it to Hollywood movies because we used our creativity.” The film follows an agent who has exactly 1440 minutes, or 24 hours, to complete a mysterious mission, racing against time. “The message we have for the audience is that we can’t really take back time,” said Andrey. “Every minute matters, every minute matters to us.” The film is now receiving international recognition, winning awards in Amsterdam and Romania. “We also got screeners at the American Film Festival and also the Niagara Film Festival,” said Dmitriy. “Those are important festivals, it’s not just for students, it’s also for high level filmmakers.” The Grade 12 students hope their story encourages other young creators. “For now, it’s a hobby,” said Andrey. “In the future we want to pursue this one and keep doing these great films like we did.”
