Tag: film festival

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News

14th Annual Film Fest on April 16th

On Friday, April 16th, the Houghton College Campus Activities Board will be hosting the 14th annual Film Festival. Guidelines for the festival state that this is “an evening” to “highlight and celebrate the best of student-made films” as well as for students to “show your hard work and to share your talent with your peers”. There are also several different categories that students can submit films to.

Sarah Phillips (’22), this year’s coordinator for the Film Festival, said that her first time attending a Film Festival was “a great experience”, also discussing that some of the elements that were involved in the festival included “a red carpet and a backdrop to take fun pictures with, and music playing in the background.” Phillips also added that “It was amazing seeing all of the creative videos that people sent in.” For the Film Festival this year, Phillips wants to “bring back some of that feeling”, while still keeping the event COVID-safe. 

Makena James (‘22), who is learning remotely this semester, is one of the entrants in this year’s Film Festival. She submitted “about three films.” Two of them were about Corg, her family’s Corgi, while the third one was “a compilation of photos set to organ music” that she “played and recorded.” 

James chose to submit a film about her family’s Corgi because “it has been a blast” to spend “a lot of time” with Corg, also adding that “everyone just seems to fall in love with her, and I really wanted to show love to my Houghton community by sharing and extending my experiences with Corg to them too.” In discussing her choice to submit the third film, James said “I love snow and the organ. Back in 2017, it snowed a ton down here in Western NC, and I took a lot of pictures. I found them again last Christmas and decided to put them to organ music.” 

Overall, while the festival may not be as “big” as previous years, Phillips is “looking forward to seeing people’s creativity and for there to be a time for others to come together and listen to music, take pictures, and have fun.” ★

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Campus News

CAB to Host Tenth Annual Film Festival

April 23 will  mark the tenth anniversary of the annual Film Festival. Houghton students have the opportunity to put together films, present them to an audience, and be judged and awarded accordingly.

fILMfEST16fINALThe Film Festival is hosted each year by  the Campus Activities Board (CAB), with the current director Brittany Hark ‘16 coordinating the event. “Each CAB person has their individual events- this is my event,” she said. Hark became involved with the festival as a first year CAB member and grew to love it, continuing to be involved with it even during her junior year when she was not officially a part of CAB. “I’m the tech go-to, and it’s a pretty tech heavy event.” she explained. Her involvement with the event is “really exciting” as it coincides with the festival’s tenth anniversary.

To mark the occasion of the anniversary, alumni who first created the event will be returning Houghton to discuss the creation and intentions of the Film Fest when it first began.“It will show how the Film Festival has grown and changed,” Hark said. She noted the development of the event into “a more prestigious event, drawing people from outside of Houghton.”

This is reflected in the changes in the judging process, which will take place both online and will involve several judges beyond the borders of Houghton. Among them is a New York City individual without ties to Houghton, someone from India, and several Houghton alumni involved in the film industry. Responses to these changes have been largely positive. Hark said, “The only negative feedback of switching the judging process is that there is less dialogue between judges.” However, she and others involved are working to incorporate  the element of dialogue into the new judging process, with opportunities for more credible judges become possible.

Additional changes include the addition of new categories. These categories include the artistic showcase music video, and thirty second categories. Hark said with the creation of the thirty second category, “We are hoping that people who are tight on time or don’t feel like they can put on a big video feel more comfortable.” This intention aligns with the overarching desire to expand the film festival, whether through judges of distant connection or a broader base of video submissions.

Hark is looking forward to the film festival as a chance to recognize the efforts and artistic capacities of Houghton students. She noted that while the majority of video submissions come from communication majors who have taken film classes, there are many submissions from other majors as well. “It’s cool to see just how talented students are, especially if it’s not their major,” she said. Thus while the tenth anniversary film festival looks to see what has changed, grown, and improved, its original intent in showcasing the talent of Houghton residents is maintained.

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News

Student Filmmakers Participate in CAB’s Eighth Annual Film Festival

This year’s Film Fest, which took place last Saturday, April 5, boasted an array of student films ranging from animation to drama to commercial work.

Houghton’s Film Fest is an annual CAB-produced event. Students were asked to submit their own work earlier this semester, to be judged by a panel of faculty, staff, and students. The final nominations were announced on April 3 into the following categories: best picture, direction, editing, cinematography, sound, and actor. Other awards included: best animation, comedy, commercial, creating awareness, documentary, drama, and narrative.

1072141_468925699902982_8848747968318661368_oThis is the eighth year that CAB has hosted the Film Fest, but according to Greg Bish, director of student programs, this year showcased some of the finest work in Film Fest history. “Eight years ago, we created Film Fest when there was minimum academic support for video…in the past few years we’ve seen a dramatic improvement.” Bish credited this to the expansions of Communications major, but stressed that, “we continue to look for ways to encourage all students to submit films.”

The black-tie event was hosted by David Davies, assistant professor of composition and theory, and Mike Jordan, dean of the chapel, who announced the winners of each of the categories. CAB members presented each of the winners with “Willies” and prizes such as newly-released Hollywood films such as Frozen and The Hobbit.

Cory Martin, a senior majoring in communications, was awarded a total of six “Willies” during the evening, including “best picture” for his short drama, “Rivers and Roads.” In an interview, Martin said that all of the films he presented “were from a digital video class that I took last semester.” “Rivers and Roads,” according to Martin, was a project that was helped by conversations and assistance from friends.

Other winners included Raphael Derungs, senior; Evan Symanski, junior; Mason Wilkes, sophomore; Joshua Duttweiler, junior; and Steve McCord, senior.

 

Categories
Arts

Annual Film Festival

The annual Film Festival is on Friday, April 12 this year, a night for Houghton’s amateur filmmakers to showcase their current creative endeavors. The first event of the evening, a formal event, will first feature a “Blue-Hue” pre-party that will be hosted at 8 p.m. in the Van Dyk lounge.

arts&sports_filmfestThe competition, following the pre-party, will take place in Wesley Chapel promptly at 9 p.m. As in any competition, the judging and awards will follow the screenings. Categories this year range from animation and comedy to commercial and drama. According to one of the judges in the competition, Sally Murphy, points are awarded according to different elements of the films such as acting, directing, and cinematography.

The awards are given for achievements such as best actor or actress, best cinematography, best editing, and of course, best picture. The competitive nature of the festival aside, contestant Aaron Fitzgerald, senior, regards it as an opportunity to “celebrate the work of filmmakers on campus.” Cory Martin, junior, said that the purpose of the festival is a chance for students to proudly “display their art to the public.”

Expectations are high for this year’s turnout. “In the past, the Houghton Film Festival has been a big letdown for me. The content was not good. It did not provide a good context to show something you had worked hard on. It was a popularity contest,” said Fitzgerald. “On further inspection, the quality of work and the attitudes of the people submitting films this year seems to be a much higher level and I am happy that I submitted something.”

Submissions this year range from the serious to the comical; “some are stupid and make you scratch your head and laugh, and others are on a more serious note,” senior contestant Andrew Jones said. From an animation film based on a Richard Simmons’ dance video submitted by Martin, to a short film-poem that adapts Ulysses by Tennyson entered by Fitzgerald, this year’s entries are sure to both entertain and encourage thought-provoking dialogue for filmmakers and attendees alike.

This evening would not be possible, of course, without the interest of Houghton students in the art of filmmaking. Jones is looking forward to the Festival as an opportunity to showcase his videos on a larger scale than the in-class critique. Jones said, “Video is such a big part of our culture and it’s great when I can contribute my own ideas and stories. I just enjoy telling stories through film, and much like writing, acting, singing, or painting, film is just another way you can tell a story in an engaging and entertaining way.”

Senior Nicholas Quigley said, “I wanted to submit my piece to share with my friends what I actually do as a communication major.” His entry, Visions, is a submission in the Drama category; he said that his piece “is an ambiguous piece that takes you on a journey in and out of this guy’s head as he deals with his darkest time in his life. What I love about the piece is its ambiguity that leaves the viewer open to interpreting it as they want.”

This year’s Film Festival is a celebration of film that offers a chance to view some fantastic amateur films by fellow students. Murphy said that it is an opportunity to “feel a little Hollywood glam,” making this an event that students will not want to miss.