What were those searchlights down at Lower Campus on Friday all about? Many students were confused, for little did they know it was the 2nd Annual Baldwin Awards. It was kind of like the Oscars, except a giant red runner replaced the red carpet and barricades. Instead of thousands of people, The Heights room held just over a hundred. The Annual Baldwin Awards, however, is in a lot of ways our own tribute to outstanding filmmakers and creators. Named after the University mascot, the 2nd Annual Baldwin Awards was gleaming from all sides, in a successful ceremony of humor, taste, wit, and fun. It had all the components of a successful show - plus who doesn't like free Junior Mints, Milk Duds, and popcorns while watching clips of prospering filmmakers?

The purpose of the Baldwin Awards is to showcase the films and documentaries of Boston College students. The BC community may not be aware of the strong work the students are capable of producing, and the Baldwin Awards allow for their time to shine and be recognized to everyone on campus. BC's own "Academy" of acclaimed judges included a panel of faculty from the fine arts and communication departments and students that judged the films in 14 categories: Best Picture of the Year, Viewer's Choice Award, Beginning Film and Video, Advanced Film and Video, Best Work by a Non-major, Cinematography, Editing, Best Actor, Sound, Screenwriting, Drama, Documentary, Music Video, and Comedy. The Viewer's Choice category was voted online by the BC community.

The night started with a monologue from the host of the night, Michael Civille, an assistant professor in the fine arts department and an acclaimed director, producer, and editor.

"I loved being the MC - it's a thrill for me to get involved and be a part of the evening's events. I love cracking bad jokes as much as people like hearing them, so everybody wins. I also love seeing the students' reactions when their name is called. The entire event is fun for me, especially the unpredictable moments, like when I couldn't open any of the envelopes." Civille was the ideal host; He cleverly poked fun at current celebrities, the nature of sequels in movies, and the students' different ways to use a Coldplay song in a film. He added in a few corny jokes and low blows - always necessary components of a beginning monologue.

Each of the winners was awarded a gold Baldwin statuette. Rich Rosario, A&S '08, commented on winning Viewer's Choice for his film Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Collar: "It feels great because the students voted for it, and that was my target audience. I hope this stops those kids who take the elevator one flight."

Billy Hurley, Best Actor winner, discussed the process and involvement in his film A Night with Trev Dubs. "We had the attitude to do it really quick; It just sort of happened. I didn't take it too seriously, trying to make Frank Corrado [CSOM '06] laugh and just goof off." When Hurley went up to receive his award, an entourage of students attacked him hugging and congratulating him. Civille commented "it was like the Oscars the way it took him 45 seconds just to break free and get to the stage! I hope that in the future more nominees will bring a posse of supporters so every nominee and winner has fans cheering them on. That was really something to see and hear from the stage, and for me it invigorated the entire night."

The film that gathered the most awards was Matinee, winning for Screenwriting, Drama, and Advanced Film and Video. Lulu Wang, BC '05, the director and co-writer of the film said, "It's an honor especially since I didn't major in film. I didn't discover film till senior year. It really shows what you can do in one semester and with a lot of passion."

Best Picture went to the film Pisces, which was produced by Jeremy Kaplan, A&S '07, and directed and written by Lulu Wang, BC '05. The editing and sound editing for Pisces was done by Tony Hale, BC '05, and the director of photography was Elaine Mak, BC '05.

The night ended with an honorary Baldwin going to Toar Winter, BC '93, a writer and editor for Finish Editorial. He offered tips for the industry: work hard, be eager, listen, think, ask questions, and "shoot everything you see." Advice and encouragement from the successful BC alumnus resonated well with the students.

The night was a success due to the help of many people, especially Jeanne Williams of the Office of Marketing Communications, one of the coordinators of the whole event. The general consensus was that this year's event was stronger and more energetic. Civille added, "In the future, we'll probably keep adjusting the categories to cater to the students' tastes. This year, we unfortunately received no documentary entries, but we got several mockumentary entries, so maybe we'll open up that category next year. Also, I think a special effects category and an animation category would be fun, since many effects are now within reach for the students."

All the films can be seen on www.bc.edu/baldwin.

Baldwin Award Winners:

Best Actor A Night with Trev Dubs, Billy Hurley, A&S '06

Comedy Tickets, Kyle Trainor, A&S '09, director, editor, director of photography, sound editor, actor, writer

Beginning Film and Video A Man Is an Island, Stephanie Rutkowski, A&S '06, director, editor, director of photography, sound editor, writer

Best Work by a Non-major The BC: Episode Two Finale, Joe Sabia, A&S '06, director, editor, director of photography, sound editor, actor; and Woody Tondorf, A&S '06, actor, writer

Cinematography Pisces, Elaine Mak, BC '05, director of photography

Editing Red Room, James O'Meara, BC '05, editor

Music Video An Ode to Science, Ryan Dalley, A&S '06, director, editor, director of photography, actor, writer

Screenwriting Matinee, Lulu Wang, BC '05 and Zachary Conroy, A&S '07, co-writers

Sound Red Room, James O'Meara, BC '05, sound editor

Drama Matinee, Lulu Wang, BC '05, director, co-writer; Daniel Doyle, A&S '06, director of photography, sound editor; Ryan Beagan, A&S '06, co-editor; Tony Hale, BC '05, co-editor; Zachary Conroy, A&S '07, co-writer

Advanced Film and Video Matinee, Lulu Wang, BC '05, director, co-writer; Daniel Doyle, A&S '06, director of photography, sound editor; Ryan Beagan, A&S '06, co-editor; Tony Hale, BC '05, co-editor; Zachary Conroy, A&S '07, co-writer

Viewer's Choice Award Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Collar, Rich Rosario, A&S '08

Best Picture of the Year Pisces, Jeremy Kaplan, A&S '07, producer; Lulu Wang, BC '05, director, writer; Tony Hale, BC '05, editor, sound editor; Elaine Mak, BC '05, director of photography