The aroma of buttered popcorn mingling with the crunch of brightly-colored candy and laughter as the lights die down and bathe the room in darkness; a classic movie theater, the perfect place for a Saturday well-spent. This was the beginning of young Cole Blaskovich’s career in film and cinematography.

With the help of Mr. Phillips (Blake’s film teacher,) his fellow film friends, and his observant eyes for all-things-cinematography, Blaskovich was able to create a film that got him a Best of the Bay nomination for best film-maker. Even more impressively, the competition isn’t just for teenagers. In fact, it’s mostly adults competing for a title that is exactly what it sounds like: being the best in the Tampa Bay area in any of the dozens of categories.

“When I found out, I was surprised and actually a little confused…I still don’t know who nominated me,” shared Blaskovich in regards to hearing the news. He thinks his nomination is thanks to a film he worked on called “The Show.” The film stemmed from a simple prompt: “Enjoy the show” and essentially follows the storyline of a young Jewish boy who is on the run from the Nazi’s following his brother’s death. The character finds comfort in one of his favorite things: watching movies.

“Cole’s film style is always extremely cinematic,” shared Mr. Phillips, “I think that’s one of his strengths- the visual component of his story-telling.” This can presumably be attributed to his undying passion for cinematography. In fact, he hopes to score a career based on it and potentially study it at Chicago University.

“[The best part of working on a film] is definitely seeing it all come together at the end,” Blaskovich explained, “and seeing your dreams come to fruition.” It’s an incredible feat to have received a nomination and even more so for the recipient to be 16, but knowing Cole, this is only the beginning.

With his hard work, passion, and the school’s resources, Cole will have the opportunity to grow exponentially and really, it’s all thanks to Blake.