News > April 3, 2008

By Kristen Guth | Staff writer

Organized by students, the inaugural Reynolda Film Festival will feature student films from all over the world and draw entertainment industry experts to speak from April 11-13. The event will be hosted by the university on the Reynolda campus and is free to university students, faculty and staff.

click to enlarge

David Park, production coordinator at Pixar, will talk about making animated features, such as 2007’s Ratatouille, on April 12 in Annenberg Forum for the Reynolda Film fest. (Production still courtesy Pixar Animation Studios)

The festival is sponsored by WAKE TV, the student-run campus television station and has been in planning since October 2007.

Junior Alex Saks, director of the festival and president and chief executive officer of WAKE TV, hopes that the festival will pique student body interest in film culture and become an annual event.

“In the 1960s and ‘70s Wake Forest had a nationally recognized, incomparable extra-curricular film program,” Saks said.

“As the leader of the only film- and television-related group here, I felt our organization had an obligation to bring this presence back to campus. The idea of a small, independent student film festival has since developed into a larger, international one.”

The festival committee received more than 75 submissions from students representing more than 15 countries, including Canada, Australia, Italy, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Thailand, Spain, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Filmmakers were able to submit their films through an international film submission Website, allowing people from any country to enter the festival.

The festival program highlights 28 films by filmmakers from 10 different countries.

Filmmaking genres include narrative, documentary, animation, experimental and international.

Although only 15 of the films were chosen as finalists in the student competition, several other films were selected by the festival committee for screening.

“The student body needs to understand that this is something that they may never experience again,” freshman Brent Lindley, program coordinator, said. “Our special guests create what people pay to see in theaters. They are some of the most creative minds in the entertainment industry.

“Some representatives who will be at the festival give identical presentations for over $700, so it’s important to realize that this is an incredible opportunity, and, further, it’s completely for free.”

The films in festival competition are in the categories of narrative, documentary and combined animation/experimentation and were selected by a panel of university student judges.

Two of the finalist films were produced by former and current students of the university.

The narrative film Negotiations by university alumnus Ethan Cushing follows a Los Angeles Police Department hostage negotiator into an emotional and violent standoff at a convenience store.

The film has received numerous festival awards throughout the country and is a finalist in the Reynolda festival. In film category two, Negotiations focuses on portraying human nature and the balance between good and evil.

Other finalists in the narrative film category include Red Autumn (category two), Blue Corner (category three), Rabia (category four) and Cody (category five).

The documentary finalist category features In Perfect Synch (category three), a film produced jointly by junior Kristin Eberman, senior Kyle Heitman and senior Carrie Stephens.

The film captures the journey of rower Jamie Dean, a university undergraduate, from humble beginnings to a world competition in England with the U.S. National Adaptive Team.

In category three, this film centers on the passion of the human spirit amidst day to day living.

“Producing a documentary takes a lot of work,” Eberman said.

“But if students here can be exposed to films made by their peers, and see what is currently being done in the film world, they may be inspired by our motivation and passion to produce something themselves.”

Documentary finalists also include Remo Usai–Um Musico para o cinema (category one), The Escape Clause (category one), The Sheriff (category two) and Martorana (category three).

The categories are numbered chronologically by the block in which they will be shown and each have specific themes.

Category one films are made by foreign filmmakers or filmed in international locations and will be shown the evening of April 4.

Categories two and three will be screened on the following day.

Sunday showings include films in category four, which juxtapose tangible realities with truth gained from reflection and beauty within, and category five, which investigate life’s unexpected obstacles and their resolutions over the course of time. In the animation/experimentation finalist category, Travelogues (category one), Sumulacra (category three), When the World Goes Dark (category four), Cycle (category four) and Dinner Table (category five) will be competing for the winning title.

“I am hopeful that students will take advantage of the opportunity to see a slate of wonderful films that are not widely available in other venues,” Mary Dalton, university professor of communication and festival speaker and judge, said.

Some of the featured speakers include David Parks, production coordinator of Pixar Animation Studios, and film producer Jordan Kerner.

Jordan Kerner has worked with movies such as Charlotte’s Web, Inspector Gadget, The Mighty Ducks films, Fried Green Tomatoes and The Three Musketeers.

Award-winning director Aner Preminger, who is also a visiting faculty member and Senior Lecturer at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel will be speaking about independent filmmaking.

“I think that the WAKE TV students who conceived, planned, organized and executed this event should be very proud of what they have accomplished in pulling together this film festival,” festival advisor Steve Jarett said.

“They have worked tirelessly and uncompromisingly to make the festival a success and I am confident that the event will reflect the effort that they have invested.”

WAKE TV organizers have started setting their sights on planning the event for upcoming year.

“In organizing the schedule this year, we have come across some amazing speaker opportunities for the future,” Lindley said.

“It looks like we’re planning next April’s festival already.”

The festival is open to the public. Admission is free for university students, faculty and staff with student identification.

Advance tickets are $12, available at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Tickets are $15 at the door.