Life & Work with Benjamin Hollinger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Hollinger.  

Hi Benjamin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a small town outside of Columbus, Ohio. Ever since I was little, I have always been obsessed with movies. In high school, I took my first video production class, where I made little sketches with my friends. I had so much fun in that class I decided to spend my junior and senior year in a tech school program for video production, which is where I decided I wanted to make movies. I then went to Wright State University to try to learn how to make a movie. Over my time at Wright State, I wrote and directed two short films and worked on several films of my classmates. I graduated in May of 2022, and I have been working film jobs when I can for the past year. I am still writing, and hopefully, I will get to make my next short film soon. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Like everyone, I have had my ups and downs. College is difficult and expensive, and making movies is very hard. I also tend to be a little ambitious in my movies which is good and bad. My first short, Stowaway, is based around the accidental kidnapping of a three-year-old. Which means for my first movie, I would be directing a three-year-old child. There are also a lot of rules for working with child actors and how long they can be on set. I was very blessed to meet a wonderfully talented young actress names Maya Hagan and her mom. They were a great help, and Maya did a phenomenal job. The rest of the cast and the crew did a great job working with her, and honestly, I couldn’t off asked for a better experience on my first set. 

When it came time for my second short, I had a kind of crazy idea for a long take sequence. A long take is a continuous shot where it appears there are no cuts; it’s also called an oner. Anyway, I had this idea for a lifeguard movie where there would be a five-minute rescue sequence, the camera would go underwater, and it would all be one shot. This idea presented a lot of problems that needed to be solved in order to pull it off. Filming underwater, finding actors who could pull off this stunt and be willing to do the work to do it safely, and then figuring out how to actually shoot and direct the scene. It stated out with just me and the only two other guys I could convince to make the movie with me, my co-producers Brendan Borden and Chris Wagner Lee. We then cast our friend Danielle Meyer who had worked with me on Stowaway as our lead. She then spent over a month training to learn how to do all her lifeguard stunts. From there, we slowly were able to get everything else into place, and we were able to shoot the scene. While it was hard, the whole cast and crew came to work, and I am very proud of what we accomplished with that sequence and with the rest of the film. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a film director and recent graduate of the film program at Wright State University. 

So far, I have made two films, Stowaway my junior thesis at Wright State, and my senior film Drown. 

I am proud of the films that I have made so far, but I’m more proud of how they were made. Making a movie is a very collaborative process, and that’s the part I have enjoyed the most. During my time in film school, I was able to meet and work with a lot of very talented people both in front of and behind the camera. 

I think what sets me apart is that I enjoy the challenge. I love trying things in my films that I’m not sure how to do. That’s where that collaboration from my team comes in. Being able to learn and achieve something as a team is such a great accomplishment and makes me want to try something even harder on the next project. 

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I was in school during covid, and like everyone, I suddenly had a lot more free time. I moved back in with my parents over quarantine, and they ended up moving out of state shortly after it ended. So, looking back, I’m glad I got some extra time with them and my sisters before they moved and I went back to Dayton to finish school. It also gave me a lot of time for conversation with friends and to study and catch up on films that I hadn’t seen. I also started talking to my soon-to-be wife, Sydney Lynn, over quarantine. We had met a Wright State and over covid started texting and Facetiming, and now we are getting married this summer. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @benhollingerfilms

Image Credits
Christopher Wagner Lee
Lindsey Kibler