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By Jonah Grinkewitz

Jastin Diemsen describes the steps he took on his journey to becoming a filmmaker as “leaps of faith.”

After graduating from high school in Newport News, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in life, but he was drawn to the visual arts.

“And so, I took a leap of faith going into graphic design,” Diemsen said.

While earning his associate’s degree from Virginia Peninsula Community College, he took an introduction to video course that piqued his interest.

He transferred to ODU to pursue a bachelor’s in graphic design, but by the end of the fall 2022 semester, he decided to switch his major to cinema and TV production.

“I wasn’t really that great of an artist per se, but I understood it visually,” Diemsen said. “That’s what drew me into video. It was easier for me to show what I’m thinking in my head.”

In addition to learning the technical side of filmmaking, the ODU cinema program has helped him build his portfolio with various film projects from his classes. These have already led to him getting freelance video work with local businesses like Prevail Clothing and bigger organizations like the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and the Norfolk Tides.

"It’s like a puzzle, each individual piece makes up the bigger picture, and going through film helped me find my piece," said Jastin Diemsen, who will graduate this December with a degree in cinema and TV production.

Although Diemsen describes himself as “not much of a people person,” he recognizes interesting people and their stories.

After filming a commercial for Angie’s Bakery in Virginia Beach, he learned that the owner – Ken Garcia Olaes – was not only a talented baker, but also an accomplished painter. This inspired him to use Olaes as the subject for a documentary film he was making in one of his classes.

The film, went on to win best documentary film at the ODU Film Festival in spring 2024. 

“That’s something that I’m very proud of and I show it to a lot of people because I put a lot of passion into it, and I feel like that’s what matters the most,” Diemsen said.

“He is a very talented artist and visual storyteller,” said David Mallin, associate professor of communication and theatre arts. “His cinematography is exceptional, and he has a strong sense of how to use the camera to move a story forward.”

In one of Mallin’s courses, Diemsen and his classmates traveled to Costa Rica to film a documentary on a local nonprofit organization using funds from a coffee plantation to invest in their community.

Aside from giving him a new perspective on the opportunities and challenges of filming in a foreign country, Diemsen said the trip gave him a chance to step out of his comfort zone and try new things like horseback riding and ziplining. 

As a self-described introvert, Diemsen said these experiences helped him get out of his shell. The biggest impact though was when he took another “leap of faith” to join the ODU Film Club last spring.

“They helped me find that sense of community, something that I didn’t really have coming into ODU,” he said. “I felt really lonely, because I didn’t know anyone who had similar interests as me. It’s like a puzzle, each individual piece makes up the bigger picture, and going through film helped me find my piece.”

Between film club and his classes, Diemsen would sometimes be working on up to four films at once and shooting and editing long hours most weekends. But he said the collaborative process of making a film with his classmates were some of the best moments he’s ever had.

After graduation, Diemsen said he would like to relax a little before trying to build up his freelance workload, but he could see himself moving to the west coast or another film industry hub one day.

For now, it remains to be seen where his next “leap of faith” will take him.