Seaver Screen Arts Student Dane Malzahn Named College Photographer of the Year 2025 Competition Finalist

Fields of wheat extending across Alva, Oklahoma, served as the canvas for Seaver College student Dane Malzahn’s short documentary No Days Off. Great farm machinery graced across each shot, as the family who works the land year-round managed the season's duties. Earning a finalist position in the Multimedia Individual Story or Essay category of the College Photographer of the Year 2025 competition, Malzahn’s film captures the tradition and toil of a midsummer wheat harvest, as told by farmers Steve, Mardonna, and Landon Brady.  

A still shot from No Days Off

“I did not expect this sort of accolade with my first documentary, though I am really honored,” says Malzahn. “Through this experience, I grew a deeper understanding of both the struggles and rewards of being a rural wheat farmer in today’s world.” 

Deciding to gain experience before an upcoming Advanced Documentary Production class, Malzahn began creating No Days Off in the summer of 2025. While reminded of encouragement by hands-on faculty mentors to pursue storytelling authentic to his sense of greater purpose as an artist, as a native Oklahoman, Malzahn chose to spotlight an overlooked vocation. 

Much of the broader American public, Malzahn notes, is disconnected from their food sources and unaware of the unremitting year-round labor of farmers in the agricultural Midwest. “As I began searching for stories that needed to be told,” Malzahn says, “I kept thinking back to the rural farmers in Alva and specifically, the Brady family.” 

Honing an Artistic Vision Abroad 

Rewind two years, and Malzahn was on an airplane to Blonay-Saint-Légier for a year-long stay with Pepperdine’s Switzerland international program. While gazing out a plane window onto frosted mountain peaks and stone-roofed homes scattered across Europe, Malzahn reflected on his big dreams to pursue a career in the film industry.

Malzahn in Switzerland as part of Seaver's international program

Yet this experience abroad would prove pivotal, reshaping the trajectory of Malzahn’s artistic aspirations. While residing at the University’s renowned Château d’Hauteville, Malzahn would travel on weekends to nations such as Greece and Norway, taking pictures of grand architecture and lush seascapes, as well as the character and regionalisms of each place.  

“Going abroad is really where I developed in terms of my career. There, I seriously began building a portfolio,” Malzahn shares. “Ironically, I disliked photography at the time. But when I was abroad, I started taking pictures because I was traveling with friends and wanted to preserve good memories.”  

A Mentor Behind the Camera

Malzahn returned to Malibu with a newfound appreciation for the expressive quality of still photography, eager to shape narratives of real-life moments through his work. 

To best navigate these broadening artistic horizons, Malzahn was in need of a mentor who could offer guidance as he continued to personalize his style in a highly competitive field such as the screen arts. 

Malzahn captures a phot of Landon Brady fixing farm equipment

Paul Kim, professor of screen arts, has made a name for himself as a documentary cinematographer with projects spanning across six continents. Most recently, Kim directed Intertidal, a documentary film produced alongside Pepperdine faculty and alumni exploring coral reef pollutants around Oahu’s Maunalua Bay. On Sunday, October 19, 2025, the filmmakers celebrated a successful premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

“Much of the emotional resonance of a documentary comes by way of the filmmaker’s perspective,” explains Kim. “Along with his strong, critical eye for visual imagery, Dane excels in composition, camera operation, and crafting nuanced moments that draw the most out of a scene.” 

Recognizing Malzahn’s storytelling sensibilities and cinematographic eye, Kim encouraged the burgeoning artist to try documentary making, which would incorporate Malzahn’s interests of preserving real-life events with photographic composition. 

Back to the Heartland

Under Kim’s tutelage, Malzahn leaned into his story-seeking instincts. After traveling the world, the young artist’s sights turned to documenting a place often overlooked, a place whose values and traditions had shaped him since childhood: the heartland of Oklahoma.

“This is what we want of all of our students: to uncover the most compelling stories from within,” Kim shares, “and then express those personal truths through their storytelling.” 

In 1901 Malzahn’s family emigrated from Denmark, passing down the same parcel of land in Oklahoma for generations. Wheat became the property’s primary crop, and currently, the Brady family manages the year-round farming duties and the annual harvest. 

Landon Brady (foreground), Steve Brady (background)

“My family is close friends with the Bradys,” Malzahn shares. “When I went up there to film No Days Off, I stayed in Alva and drove 30 minutes out to the section of land and the Brady's household each day to film. The Bradys tend to the land all year, and I really want people to understand the importance of their work.” 

For Malzahn, the film’s title, No Days Off, signals the Bradys’ year-round, seven-day-a-week sacrifice. With equipment costs climbing while wheat prices remain fixed, small-scale farmers face expanding challenges. But devotion to the land is the Bradys’ passion, as Steve Brady closes the film with: “I’ve always wanted to do this my whole life. It ain’t been easy, but it’s been worth it.” 

Instead of focusing on agriculture as a commodity, Malzahn hopes that sharing the story of a close-knit family gives people across the nation a sincere appreciation for both agrarian life and the food on their tables. 

Malzahn’s accolade builds upon a tradition of creative excellence at Seaver College, which is home to distinguished faculty and alumni including those of literary distinction and of GRAMMY-recognized artistry. With a commitment to student success, Pepperdine remains an institution devoted to both intellectual rigor and character formation. 

“I hope the Brady’s story gives a voice to people who are rarely in the spotlight,” says Malzahn, “but whose work feeds the world.” 

Visit CPOY Finalists page to watch Malzahn’s short documentary No Days Off in full.

Photo Credit:

Still shots of No Days Off by provided by Dane Malzahn