Peabody Filmmaker Competes in NESN Showcase

PEABODY, MA – David Apostolides' college roommate had a story to tell: Former pitcher Jake Damphousse had been forced off the mound by repeated injuries, and his pitching career was stopped before it even began.

Apostolides, a Peabody native and Suffolk University student, made Damphousse the subject of his short film, "Giving Up the Game," with fellow student filmmaker JJ Moran. The film recently made the finals in season 2 of NESN Next Producer, a series for New England college students' short sports films. The winner of the series wins $20,000, and a job opportunity at NESN.

"Jake had been my roommate, and he had a really good story to tell," said Apostolides, class of 2018, who had played baseball as a Suffolk freshman and is majoring in media production.

"Their hard work shows in every single frame," said Professor Monika Raesch, chair of Suffolk’s Department of Communication & Journalism. "I was delighted to see how they had applied and smoothly integrated some theoretical film concepts. Besides being shot beautifully, their choice of camera positions and framing alongside the editing created more depth to the story."

While voting on the student films is ongoing, Apostolides and Moran are setting their sights on their next project. The students are crowdfunding for a feature-length documentary on the global impact of American politics.

"It’s rare that Americans look across the aisle for another perspective," said Apostolides. "We’ll bring viewers to other places to see real people outside our borders who have a stake in our success."

Image via Suffolk University