Ben Soffer
My interest in filmmaking originates from my grandparents, they are both artists and painters so from a very young age I was exposed to Museums, art galleries, and workshops. Although I have drawn and made art from a very young age I never imagined myself ever pursuing art as a profession. I’m no where near a film buff and if you ask me about an expressionist film from the 70’s I can almost guarantee that I won’t know what your talking about. In my group of friends however I was always the go to guy with any movie trivia questions (this is a blessing but mostly curse). My only avenue of expression was watching films, whenever I felt anxious or frightened or sad I always had movies to calm me down. For so long I was too afraid to ever attempt to create anything myself, I knew it existed but never thought it was possible for me. Soon my obsession became more than a therapeutic release. I stopped watching films and started studying them.
My main interest as a kid was no doubt soccer, I thought growing up that I’d be alongside Messi or Ibrahimovic by now. I was never the fastest, or most technical, but I was able to keep up because I could outwork my opponents/ teammates. I don’t say this to brag, but to express how hard I had to work just to be as good as the guy next to me. This taught me one of my first life lessons in work ethic: “If you aren’t the best, work harder than the best.” This is something that has stuck with me throughout my life thus far.
![](https://b2972485.smushcdn.com/2972485/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/bensoffer_soccer.jpg?lossy=1&strip=1&webp=1)
Film didn’t enter my life until my Sophomore year of college. I had just finished my freshman year at the University of Delaware, I was on track to graduate with a business degree and I was doing quite well in my classes. My soccer dreams were long shattered, mostly because of several surgeries due to injuries I suffered on the field and the fact that I was never good enough to make it to that next level. I was lost, this period in my life was my most unhappy by far. My friends and parents could see that I had no passion for what I was doing and they could tell it was affecting my psyche.
One day my parents brought me to a barnes and noble and sat me down to talk about what was going on. They asked me why I wanted to major in business, about how I was doing, and what my plans were for the future. In that moment I could only think about one thing, film. Deep down I always knew I wanted to make movies, but I never thought I’d be good enough or creative enough or smart enough. But in that moment of desperation I chose to jump. I told them that I wanted to transfer to Temple to pursue a film degree. Although at first this decision worried my parents, they could see how serious I was. So they supported me, even though I could tell they were just as scared as I was.
![ben soffer](https://b2972485.smushcdn.com/2972485/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ben_soffer-1.jpg?lossy=1&strip=1&webp=1)
This brings us to where I am now: I’m in my senior year of college and through hard work and discipline I have reached a level of skills in film that I never thought possible. With each year I learn more and more about this medium and strive to absorb as much as I can. I have failed and I have succeeded but I finally feel like I’m where I belong. This internship at JTwo really feels like a milestone in my film career and I hope to learn as much as I can during my time hear.