At 19, Mark Burnett’s son Cameron Burnett shows promise following in the footsteps of his family’s famous clan.
His mom and dad may be superstars, but Cameron Burnett — son of reality show titan Mark Burnett and stepson of “Touched by an Angel’s” Roma Downey — is charting his own stellar course with an acclaimed first film. Beautifully composed, the short is called “The Bench” and, although short in length, it’s enough to make you reach for the tissue box. It has a transformative power beyond words.
An old blind man in an empty park sits on a bench enjoying the day when a young man takes the seat beside him.
“Nice day,” the elder says, in what seems like passing conversation.
“Yes,” replies the younger, probably not realizing his seatmate is blind.
“Tell me what you see,” he implores. “Please, please.”
The young man goes on to say that the sky is blue, a young man is flying a kite, a young couple is eating cheese, some kids are playing soccer, others are standing around the pond mesmerized by the local ducks. The bench sitter is even more descriptive of couples with love looks in their eyes and a children’s birthday party.
It ends with the young man going on his merry way.
“Thank you,” he says to the elder, who responds, “No, thank YOU.”
The younger goes off and leaves the elder with a smile on his face, knowing he really took in a day at the park thanks to a smidge of simple human kindness. “And that’s what it’s really about” Burnett said, “just taking a few seconds out to be kind. I took that idea and just went with it. The first twist is that the park is empty. The second twist is that both were blind. This beautiful scene brings joy to an old man and brought a young man to see.”
Cameron attended local Malibu schools all through his youth but his dreams were split between soccer and filmmaking. “Although growing up I was always on a film set, it never occurred to me it was something I could do myself,” he said. Upon reflection, Cameron decided to go to the USC film school, among the world’s best. As for his first film, “The inspiration came from my parents because they are so very kind.” The shared admiration is easy to feel when Burnett and Downey speak of their talented 19-year-old son. “Cameron came into my life when he was just a little guy,” recalls Roma. “Mark and I were long over our previous relationships and we have always been very close and feel really fortunate. I think our kids have open hearts and open minds. It is very exciting.”
While Roma came into the marriage with her beautiful and talented daughter, there were few problems integrating a lovely blended family. “It’s been great,” says Roma of the family journey, “I got a bonus with Mark’s two kids — I feel really fortunate. With Cameron, what sets him apart is making an uplifting film of kindness, compassion and caring.”
There are even bigger things in store for this remarkable young storyteller, so stay tuned.