This is quite an opportune time for student filmmakers at Boston College. With the Baldwin Awards still fresh in the memory of many, yet another opportunity for students to create and showcase their own films has made its way to BC.
The Campus Movie Fest, an organization started by four students at Emory University in 2001, gives students the opportunity to make their five-minute films about the subject of their choice, and showcase them before a panel of judges with the possibility of winning numerous prizes, worth thousands of dollars.
This year marks the competition's fourth consecutive visit to BC, and over 40 teams of students have enlisted to create films.
The Campus Movie Fest was brought to BC by a partnership between Campus Movie Fest, the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC), the Sophomore Leadership Council (SLC), and The Office of Residential Life. In past years, the Campus Movie Fest has been coordinated by the Residence Hall Association; this year, however, the UGBC took over the major organizational responsibilities of the event.
Skylar Barbosa, co-director of special events for the UGBC and A&S '09, said, "We were responsible for reserving rooms and helping out with promotion; however, CMF has all their own supplies and have been doing a great job with promotion."
Dan Costa, a member of Campus Movie Fest, said, "We love the partnership we have created with Reslife, the UGBC, the SLC, in addition to the support that we have gotten from the film professors and students. What really draws us is that overall, there has been a really positive reaction when bringing the festival to campus. It's great to see teams come back every year and share their improved talents in addition to seeing many new teams join in."
The contest takes place throughout the spring at multiple colleges in eight cities throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. Past winning films have been shown on CNN, The Today Show, and ABC's World News Tonight.
While the event's initial attraction lies in these elaborate prizes, most students are making films for the competition not to win, but because they enjoy movie-making as a hobby.
"I chose to participate [in Campus Movie Fest] because I had the free time and we won last year," said Sean Hickey, A&S '08. Hickey's team, Hoop Dreamz, has won the BC contest for the last two years. The team won last year with a short film entitled "William Howard Taft's Long Lost Tape," a parody about the life of one of the nation's most obscure presidents. He also said that movie making is not a career aspiration for him, just a fun hobby.
Another draw for students is that all of the necessary movie-making equipment - microphone, tripod, camera, tapes, and computer with editing software - is provided, free of charge, for use during the week of filming.
While there are no set guidelines for each video, there are several categories under which contestants can enter, including a category that focuses on social justice, new this year and sponsored by Elfenworks. The winner in this category will receive a $10,000 prize.
Other prizes for winners include Apple products such as iPods, Mac mini computers, and Apple TV. Different prizes will be awarded for best drama, best comedy, best picture, and best use of mobile.
The best use of mobile is a new category that encourages promotion of AT&T cell phones that are handed out to contestants for the week of filming. The phones have unlimited minutes and texting capabilities, but the students are encouraged to go beyond using them for some free calls to their friends on spring break in Hawaii and showcase the phones in their movie.
Entrants have only a week to shoot and edit their film; the equipment will be collected next Tuesday, the final submission deadline for the contestant's films.
Once submitted, a panel of judges composed of BC students, faculty, and staff will screen the films and choose one to represent BC at the Boston Grand Finale at the Colonial Theatre on April 26. All films submitted are posted on the Campus Movie Fest Web site and are available for viewing by anyone at any time.
Viewers can vote for their favorite films at home. Films that receive the most votes will be awarded a prize. The top vote-getter will be shown as an in-flight movie on Virgin Airlines flights.
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