Buskey’s Gone, But Wait! There’s Shaun!

As Fieldston waves goodbye to the legendary Larry Buskey, who retired last year, the community welcomes the new film teacher: Shaun Seneviratne.

“I’m not into doing things in a traditional way. I want us to push the boundaries of creativity,” said Seneviratne, who can often be found around campus in his signature vibrant “shacket.” Whether “tinkering” in the film lab or “limbering” outside to stay active, he never lets a moment go to waste.

As a child, Seneviratne grew up watching and loving the “Batman” and “Ghostbusters” movies. When he was ten years old, he saw a great independent movie called “Clerks,” which was made in his home state of New Jersey for $30,000. “It just showed me that like, oh, movies could be made in a totally different way. It doesn’t just have to be Hollywood movies,” said Seneviratne.

Independent films – not produced by big studios – inspired Seneviratne to create his own. However, he felt he could never seriously pursue his dreams as a first-generation American because his Sri Lankan parents pushed him to find a traditional job. This led Seneviratne to a major in marketing and journalism and to minor in film studies. 

Despite his analysis of film throughout his years at university, it wouldn’t be until he was 24 years old that Seneviratne picked up a camera. He was shooting a birthday video for his long-distance partner when he fell in love with cinematography. Later, when visiting her in India, he used the stories from that trip to inspire his first feature film, “Ben and Suzanne, A Love Story Told in 4 Parts.”

Seneviratne has spent much of the last 14 years developing this project. The film premiered last March at the South by Southwest Film Festival. In the past year, Seneviratne brought his movie to film festivals all over the US and the world. “The only dream of my adult life was to make that movie,” he proudly remarked. “And now I’m having this successful run and I need new dreams, which is kind of a really great place to be.”

Aside from directing his feature film (and many short films as well), Seneviratne has spent the last six years teaching at the Brooklyn STEAM School, building the film production program there. Now, at Fieldston, Seneviratne is ready to “level up” the material he teaches to his students. After  his first couple of weeks here in the Bronx, he is enjoying the atmosphere and freedom, “like we’re doing college but at high school.”

As the film teacher, Seneviratne teaches four classes: Intro to Film Production, Film Production, the Film Majors class and Non-Fiction Film, which he is especially excited about. Specifically, he looks forward to pushing the boundaries of documentary filmmaking and experimenting with different ways to create non-fiction films. “You watch a Netflix documentary, there’s going to be interviews, talking heads,” said Seneviratne. “But non-fiction can be about anything; it just has to come from life.”

With his fourteen years of experience in the film industry, Seneviratne is excited to bring his knowledge and crafty brain to the Fieldston film program. He also hopes to create a flexible, stress-free classroom environment that will feed off the students – letting them shape the day-to-day curriculum. “I’m really not a fan of adults that pretend like they’ve never had a teenage experience,” said Seneviratne. “I’m coming from a perspective of very much understanding what that is and trying to help you all navigate through these transitional years of being a teenager in a way that’s not just telling you what to do.”                                                                              

With big shoes to fill, Seneviratne is confident he can carry on the torch from Buskey while simultaneously creating his own legacy here at Fieldston. When they met last year, Buskey and Seneviratne connected on a big level, even realizing they have the same favorite director: Wong Kar Wei. “[Buskey] told me, ‘I got them over here, but you’re going to take it to the next level,’” said Seneviratne. 

Always challenging the status quo, Seneviratne encourages others to push the boundaries and live each day to the fullest: “If we live a life of safety without any challenge [or change], then are we really ever growing? Are we really experiencing life?’”

So, when you see him around campus, be sure to ask Mr. Seneviratne for a movie suggestion… he might know a good one.