Lights, Camera, Action: Local Film Festival Brings Variety to Blacksburg Walking the red carpet doesn’t seem like a far stretch for some of the talented filmmakers that debuted their films at the Progeny Motion Picture Film Festival at the Lyric Theatre on Saturday. The 4th annual film festival brought together people from all around the community to watch the films submitted by students and non-professionals as a part of Arts Fusion week. Twenty-one films were screened from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. followed by a presentation of Paul Harril’s film titled, “Gina, An Actress Age 29” which played at the Sundance Film Festival. Harril, a Temple University graduate, will be joining the Communication Department this fall as an assistant professor. Seven qualified judges pre-screened all of the films to decide on which one would be awarded in areas for special effects, sound, editing, cinematography, screenplay, acting, director, honorable mention and best in show. Apple donated expensive software, such as Final Cut Pro, for the best in show winners. Neil King, a judge and Interdisciplinary Studies professor at Virginia Tech, said, “For the bigger prizes we all came to consensus pretty quickly. The ones we liked, we all liked right away. It is easier when you have good material you are looking at.” Before announcing the awards, Stephen Prince, a judge and Film professor at Virginia Tech, said, “We have all been really impressed by the high quality of the films. Everyone who was picked to be in the festival was truly a winner.” The first place prize went to “Riverside” by Todd Tinkham. This was an 11-minute film about a young woman that sees her life flash before her eyes. A.J. Broadbent, a junior Communication Major at Tech, received second place for “Where’s Charlie?” which modern version of Charlie Chaplin’s famous “Tramp” character. Also, Broadbent received best director for “I Remember”, a nostalgic and sentimental film about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Broadbent’s favorite film, “I Remember,” included real home video footage and some acted out scenes all shot on 8mm film with music added. “I wasn’t really involved in film until I came to Tech and took a film class. I hadn’t decided which way I wanted to go in communication yet, so I took a class as an elective and loved it,” Broadbent said. He is a part of a production company called Uni5ied. After the festival he was returning back to England, where he will complete his study abroad semester. Marshall Veniar, from England, met Broadbent in his study abroad program and traveled all the way to Blacksburg for his to see his film in the festival called “Sushi and Beans” earn honorable mention. Broadbent and two of his other films helped him create this comedy about romance and eating habits of different woman on dates. He described seeing his film as “Nerve wrecking, but it is it is relieving when people laugh at the right moments.” Veniar plans to move to New York City one day and pursue his passion for film. Ed Gendron, a student at Radford University, won the best special effects for his film “Planning Ahead.” “The first time you show a film, you don’t know the reaction you will get,” Gendron said. “There is one reaction from yourself in the studio and the editing room. There is another one from the people who walking in no prior knowledge.” Joseph S. Flakes, the actor and producer of “L’Hiver Des Amis”, was in for a surprise this year when he won best acting. Last year his film was not accepted into the actual festival, but that didn’t stop him from trying again this year. This year he decided to make a comedy about a struggling filmmaker and use some of his clips from his previous film. Flakes admitted, “I was really really nervous before it came on. My hand was shaking.” These nerves were soon greeted with laugher and applause from the audience. Among some of the other awards was Alexis Edwards for third place and best editing for “Hostage,” “Uganda” by Tim Leaton for best cinematography, “Ashford House” by Mel Harris for best screen play, and “Red State” by Jeremiah Lewis for best sound. There were many other films that did not receive any additional recognition, but had strong reactions from the audience. One film in particular that targeted the college audience was the “Beerpong Documentary” by Rick Devens. The theatre roared in laugher as they watched the actor explain all the ins and outs of the famous game of beer pong. Also, “The 9th Ward” by Shea Sizemore exposed interviews from victims of Hurricane Katrina. Film lovers who attended the event were able to walk away with more than just entertainment or a raffle prize donated by Apple, but also advice from Harril during a question and answer session. In terms of the funding of films, Harril suggested to “Have your big dream projects, but always think practically and use the resources you have without a lot of money. Make worth of what is going to shine regardless of how little you have.” Jamie C. Williams, senior communication major, was one of the six student Board members who have been heavily involved in making the festival a success. “Competition was a lot more fierce this year,” Williams said. “There was more talent and variety.” To get involved the event next year or to learn more about the festival visit the Web site at http://www.progeny.org.vt.edu. |