By Ayushi Das

The Buckley School alum Alexander Salomon was recently awarded Best International Film for his original short film, Sunrise Falling, at the Bond University Film and Television Academy Film Festival in Australia — a global film contest for young filmmakers. Salomon won, out of 300 submissions from across the world.

Salomon grew up in Sherman Oaks with a family of filmmakers. His father, Mikael Salomon, is a Danish cinematographer, his mother is a film director, and his sister attended film school. At 15 he followed his family’s history and made a movie about a mime who witnessed a murder.

He says Buckley School’s film program inspired him to start making films for his school’s film festival. The idea for Sunrise Falling came from experimenting with Unreal Engine, a 3D development software.

“I started the film during my senior year at Buckley,” said Salomon, 19. “It was a project that started out of pure boredom and curiosity. …  I didn’t even plan on making a film when I started. But then halfway through I thought, ‘Oh wait. There’s something here.’”

Interwoven with comedy, the film touches on universal themes of depression and hope. Sunrise Falling is about two robots, a man and a woman, standing atop a tall building, and discussing whether they should keep their machinery running when they are threatened with being turned into scrap metal. The entire film was created through 3D model animation.

“I wanted to showcase my experiences with depression in a creative way,” Salomon said. “And in a way that wasn’t entirely depressing.”

Salomon credits his friends for supporting him throughout his mental health journey. He was excited to have two of them voice the characters for his animation.

“I would like to give a lot of credit to Christopher Gonzalez and Emma Bissonnette,” Salomon said of his two friends from the San Fernando Valley. “I’m thankful to have had such amazing people to work with.”

Salomon’s recognition from BUFTA came as a surprise to him.

“I applied to many film festivals as a shot in the dark,” Salomon said. “I’m very happy I shot those shots.”

While Salomon might have been shocked by his achievement, Darren Paul Fisher, head of Film, Screen and Creative Media at Bond University, describes it as a no-brainer.

“It’s not common that our judges all unanimously agree on a winner,” Fisher said. “We found Sunrise Falling to be a really mature piece of work.”

The BUFTA Film Festival is operated through Bond University’s Film program in Queensland, Australia. The festival is open to submissions from high school filmmakers across the globe. “BUFTA is the biggest short film prize for young filmmakers in the world,” Fisher said.

There are 9 categories in the contest, ranging from Best Animation to Best Experimental Film. Submissions are reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges. The International Film category, which Salomon won, was introduced in 2023.

“Filmmaking is a universal language,” Fisher said. “BUFTA is about platforming filmmakers and getting them into the global system of filmmaking.”

Salomon is currently studying international communications at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Beyond BUFTA, Salomon was also awarded first place in an unprecedented tie at the Open Mind Film Festival in April. While he initially planned to keep film in his life as a recreational passion, the feedback on Sunrise Falling has made him think twice.

“It was really encouraging to hear,” Salomon said. “It does re-ignite the flame that maybe I could get back into film after finishing my degree.”

Sunrise Falling is available to watch at filmfreeway.com/SunriseFalling.