A man on a mission

Hey, kudos to Ben Wu, who just snagged a Student Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It's thanks to his Stanford master's thesis project, a documentary film he made called "Cross Your Eyes Keep Them Wide."

The film has a Bay Area angle, too: It's a profile of developmentally disabled artists at the Creativity Explored studios in San Francisco. "Through their own words the artists discuss their work, the difficulties they sometimes face in the outside world, and the community they've built through the center," says the Creativity Explored website.

Ben, who now lives in Brooklyn, was one of three filmmakers chosen in the documentary category and 11 overall. He'll find out at a June 9 ceremony if his Student Academy Award is a gold, silver or bronze.

Good to see a man on a quest get some props. By making docs, Ben is trying to "save his soul" after working for years in reality TV.

After suffering through "Grease: You're the One That I Want," I can get behind that.

Photo courtesy of Ben Wu.