By By Maraithe Thomas, News Staff

Michael Quill, a fresh communications and cinema studies graduate, is gaining serious attention for a film he debuted at Campus MovieFest 2009.

‘

‘Breaking Holden’ made it to the finals of the nationwide competition in which filmmakers have one week to shoot and produce a short film. It finished in the top 16 of more than 75,000 student films and will be featured on some Virgin America flights starting in October, said Quill.

‘

‘This was an interesting story because we embraced more mainstream topics,’ Quill said. ‘And in that regard, it was a personal success to make a film that seems to be so accessible to a wide range of people.’

‘

‘Breaking Holden’ is a short comedy about a 20-something Average Joe who is unsatisfied with his life and tries desperately to muster the courage to speak to the prettiest girl at work. The witty script is reminiscent of Charlie Kaufman’s 2002 film ‘Adaptation.’ And, like Kaufman in ‘Adaptation,’ Quill said he worked closely with his brother in developing the film.

‘

Quill, who participated in the competition all five years he attended Northeastern, also won a lifetime achievement award at last year’s event.

‘

‘It was my last year so there was a lot of pressure to kind of outdo what I had done previously,’ Quill said. ‘We certainly weren’t trying to make an art film with this one.’

‘

Quill started as a philosophy major at Northeastern and eventually migrated to communication studies. Once he got his hands on some filmmaking equipment, he said he began to embrace the idea of becoming a filmmaker.

‘

‘[Campus Moviefest] was the start of me taking filmmaking seriously,’ he said. ‘Being at Northeastern, you’re surrounded by a lot of people who have great work ethic, which was a great help.’

‘

Quill’s other films, which can be found on his website, Michaelquill.com, cover many genres and styles of filmmaking. His films all look, sound and feel different.

‘

Quill, who said his favorite movie is ‘Taxi Driver,’ is starting a new job in San Francisco this summer where he hopes get acquainted with the business end of filmmaking at a startup community there and also be a little closer to Los Angeles.

‘

‘I can definitely see myself back in Boston in the future,’ he said. ‘I like the grassroots filmmaking scene.’