A compilation of student writing, directing, editing, and acting is set to take place at the Stevenson University Annual Student Film Festival on Feb. 25 at the School of Design. Bringing together student filmmakers, actors, and many sets filmed on campus, the collection of work offers an array of different perspectives.
The Annual Student Film Festival, a contest of student-submitted short films, has recently become the start of a tradition. Run by the film and moving image department in conjunction with Student Activities, the event aims to give student filmmakers a place to show their work to fellow students and the rest of the Stevenson community. It is the hope that the forum will benefit their future filmmaking and careers as they progress through their coursework at Stevenson. Film and moving image students are encouraged to contribute short films completed in the last two years.
“I’m submitting a piece called ‘Prey‘,” said junior Adam Vaughn, a transfer film and moving image major. Vaughan, who has completed one semester at Stevenson, feels privileged to be a part of the many opportunities that Stevenson has provided him for showing his work.
“I’m confident [‘Prey’] will do well. It did well in the online festival last semester, and I’m excited to show it to a campus as whole. Showing my film on a big screen will be really exciting,” he said.
The film festival allows for all genres of short films, and for film majors, the benefit of having other majors view their work is valuable for their careers.
“I submitted a documentary of mine called ‘Inked.’ It is about a friend of mine’s love of tattoos,” said Theodore Booker, a senior film student. For him, adding a documentary to the film festival program is important.
“A lot of people say they don’t like documentaries. But when they watch it, they’ll find it interesting, because you don’t really see a lot of documentaries on tattoos,” he said.
Keyara Blackmon, a program director for MAP, is leading the Student Activities involvement with the film fest. Blackmon said there will be snacks and great short films, so she is excited to see all the films because, as she added, “they were really good last year.”
The contest consists of first, second, and third place winners selected by prestigious judges from the film industry, as well as fellow staff members. The contest also allows students to voice their opinion on the selections by voting for the People’s Choice Award.
As Vaughn said, for many, the contest is about much more than winning a prize.
“To me, it’s not so much about winning first, second, or third; it’s about the work and showing people what I can do. If people give me good feedback, it lets me know where I am at, and what I can work on for future projects,” he said.
The Film Festival will begin at 7 p.m. with a reception, snacks included, followed by screenings of the film at the School of Design Soundstage at 8 p.m. All students and faculty are invited to attend and bring friends.