Cinephiles don’t have to go to Cannes or Venice to catch the newest creative minds in the world of film.
The University has its own share of fresh film talent, which will be on display at the second annual UO Student Film and Video Festival. The festival kicks off 7 p.m. Friday in 100 Willamette with a reprise presentation of 2001’s festival.
The entries for this year’s festival won’t actually be shown until the end of the term, as many of the student films are final projects for spring term classes. This year’s festival will feature the newest batch of student projects covering a variety of categories, including: Music videos, animation shorts and experimental productions, all produced by University students. Advertisements, public service announcements, dramatic short features and news items are also included in the collection. The free public re-screening Friday showcases 36 entries from last spring’s festival.
An event of this kind may not have been possible just a few years ago, said Dan Miller, a journalism professor and festival organizer.
“Digital media has finally advanced to the point where students can produce broadcast quality work relatively inexpensively,” he said.
Miller organized the festival with fellow journalism professor Ken O’Connell and students from the University chapter of the National Broadcasting Society. Miller said last year’s event “exceeded our expectations.”
Festival Committee Chairwoman Cassie Hibbert agreed.
“The place was packed,” she said. “People were sitting in the aisles. It was great.”
The festival committee thought the reprise presentation of last year’s entries would be a great way to stir campus interest in the 2002 festival as well as offer guidance and inspiration to those interested in submitting projects.
“The best communities feed off each other, and this is a great way for students to share ideas,” said festival advisor Rebecca Force, also a journalism professor.
She said the amount of creativity that came out of last year’s festival was “remarkable,” and she is looking forward to what this year’s festival will offer.
Because of the overwhelming success of last year’s event, the 2002 festival promises to be even bigger.
“There will be more sponsorship this year and more awards. The judges will be from the University and professionals outside the University,” Miller said.
For students producing multimedia projects for classes, the festival offers artists a venue to show their work on a wider scale as well as earn accolades beyond grades.
Though many of the submissions for the upcoming festival come from class projects being completed for spring term, festival organizers said that students don’t have to submit works from classes. Outside projects are welcomed and encouraged. The only requirement is that the works be no longer than 10 minutes in length. Friday’s event also will offer 2002 festival sign-up sheets that can be submitted with project entries during Dead Week.