At 19 years old, Speech freshman Osato Dixon has held onto one thing from his childhood: his imagination.

His 3-D animation of a crayon that comes to life was one of 10 student films chosen as finalists for this year’s Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award.

Dixon was chosen from a pool of 200 applicants for the award, making him the first Northwestern student to be a finalist.

“I was pretty excited to be the only freshman and the only one from NU to win the award,” Dixon said.

His film, “Sail Away,” tells the story of a boy who is sick in bed and is comforted by “a crayon that comes alive and makes a get-well card for him,” Dixon said. The crayon draws a sailboat on the card only to discover that the boy has entered the picture and sailed away.

According to contest guidelines, the 50-second “short” had to capture a source of enjoyment found in everyday life.

“I got the inspiration from (the idea of) an artist and his tool,” Dixon said. “I just used the point of view of the tool.”

Dixon sent his proposal to Coca-Cola in November after seeing an ad for the contest in Annie May Swift Hall. About three weeks later, Dixon received a check for $5,000 from Coca-Cola and a three-week deadline to make the film.

Dixon enlisted his friends to help him produce his vision. Music freshman Ephraim Church composed original violin, piano and cello music, and Speech sophomore Jeremy Latcham and doctoral film student J.B. Capino helped with production.

The grand prize winner will be announced Feb. 20, according to Kristin Herr, Coca-Cola’s contest spokeswoman. The winner will receive $10,000 and have his or her film shown in more than 12,000 theaters nationwide. The winner also will meet with producers and creative executives at Universal Pictures.

“The goal of the program is to help launch the career of a student filmmaker – to build a bridge between the classroom and film industry,” Herr said.

Coca-Cola began the program in 1998 in conjunction with its online film partner, Hypnotic. Since then, eight film schools have participated regularly, including New York University, Columbia University and the University of California at Los Angeles.

Dixon said the experience could serve as a stepping stone to a career in directing, regardless of whether he wins. He said he plans to pursue similar projects and internships in the future.

“It was my first paid job as a director,” he said. “This is what I want to do. I always try to give 110 percent.”