A Powell teen won a top award in C-Span鈥檚 StudentCam contest.
Olentangy Liberty High School freshman Benjamin Kurian took home first prize in the high school central division with his six-minute documentary, Vision Zero refers to a national goal to eliminate road fatalities.
StudentCam鈥檚 theme this year was 鈥淵our Message to the President.鈥� Around 3,500 students submitted videos, according to C-Span. Kurian鈥檚 award put him in the top five videos and earned him $3,000.
Kurian, 15, said he got the idea for the film after reading a report about the impact of road traffic crashes and possible solutions that could save lives, including artificial intelligence.
鈥淩oad fatalities affect every single one of us,鈥� Kurian said. 鈥淚t's a very familiar topic to all of us, I'd say. And it's something that we accept as normal, and that's something we really shouldn't do.鈥�
Kurian鈥檚 documentary focuses on how AI could help save lives on the road. The short video is fast-paced and packed with information. He wrote, filmed, edited, narrated and scored the video himself.
Kurian also interviewed 10 people for the video, including transportation experts from state organizations, AI experts, and people who work on the road. He said it was a challenge to fit all those voices inside the video, but he let the experts鈥� ideas frame the script.
鈥淚 think that created a more fascinating and a more compelling narrative,鈥� Kurian said.
It was a different approach than what Kurian did with his other award-winning StudentCam videos. As a 7th grader, Kurian won first prize in the middle school division for a video looking at the impact of the opioid crisis. The next year, he took second place for his look at continuing education called,
Kurian鈥檚 interest in video and storytelling began earlier, though. He said he got his start when he was in 4th grade during the pandemic. He spent 2020鈥檚 lockdown making videos of his toys with his parents鈥� iPhones and then uploading those to YouTube.
鈥淣ow, obviously, I鈥檝e taken those down, because they鈥檙e super embarrassing,鈥� Kurian said with a laugh.
Kurian is using a more professional camera now. He said the StudentCam contests helped him realize his videos could have purpose.
鈥淚 realized I could, you know, use my love for storytelling in video editing for something other than maybe bedroom movies with stuffed animals,鈥� Kurian said. 鈥淚 could use it for something that could bring awareness about a certain topic to a group of people.鈥�
In the case of 鈥淭he Road to Vision Zero,鈥� Kurian wanted to make sure he left viewers with a message. He said his English teacher and video advisor Aaron Rothey gave him feedback.
Kurian鈥檚 takeaway is that while technology can be helpful, safety involves every driver on the road.
鈥淪omething that we need to focus on is becoming better drivers ourselves, because not all the time technology is going to save us,鈥� Kurian said.
Of course, having turned 15 around a month ago, Kurian can鈥檛 actually drive yet. He said when he does get behind the wheel, he wants to be a good, safe driver.
In the meantime, 鈥淩oad to Vision Zero,鈥� is making an impact. Powell City Councilman Ferzan Ahmed invited Kurian to present his video at the International Bridge Toll and Turnpike Association鈥檚 annual summit in March in Dallas. Kurian showed his video and gave a speech.
鈥淭his little video that I edited in my bedroom is something that was premiered at a conference with a thousand plus attendees,鈥� Kurian said. 鈥淚 think it's really transformative what these connections can do.鈥�
Kurian said he isn鈥檛 sure if filmmaking is something he wants to pursue as a career, but he hopes to keep making videos.
鈥淭he Road to Vision Zero,鈥� premieres on C-Span at 6:50 a.m. on Saturday. It鈥檚 also available to watch on
