f080424_ar_filmfest.C
Notes: Layout: please make a date to remember shadow box
Summary:
Headline: UC Davis Film Festival offers professional feedback for student film projects
Layercake: Preliminary deadline Friday, May 2
By SONIA PARECADAN
Aggie Arts Writer
Students with a deep interest in filmmaking as well as those who just like fooling around with their camera for class projects may have found a rewarding avenue for their efforts.
The UC Davis department of theatre and dance Annual Film Festival, in association with the department of technocultural studies, is announcing a call for submissions due this month for the 8th annual screening in June.
For first time, the film festival will give students the opportunity to project their movies on a big screen at Varsity Theatre in downtown Davis, said festival founder, judge and UC Davis theatre and dance professor John Iacovelli.
Like the other judges, Iacovelli has worked extensively in the film and television industry. He created the festival eight years ago when he came to teach at Davis and saw the need to support students who were genuinely interested in filmmaking but lacked any real opportunity to hone their skills.
“We don’t have a real film school here at Davis, so I thought, ‘What can I do for these kids?'” he said. “I started working in film 20 years ago, and when one of my films, Ruby in Paradise, went to Sundance, I kind of realized how important these festivals are for students.”
For the past eight years, the festival has received a great portion of submissions from students of diverse backgrounds – not just film studies or theatre majors, said the festival’s student coordinator Paris Perrault.
“We have seen lots of really great films from students who did a really interesting documentary for a class, or a funny commercial, all unrelated to film studies or theatre,” Perrault said. “We’ve been surprised by the high quality.”
Furthermore, she said, students who submitted films to private company Campus MovieFest earlier this year or any other film festival in Davis are welcome to resubmit them.
Any film is eligible that is no longer than 10 minutes, including credits, as well as made by a UC Davis student within the past 24 months or by an alumni whose film was made while at UC Davis.
Also for the first time, the festival is accepting pre-submissions that can be up to 15 minutes in length for filmmakers interested in getting feedback from the judges on how to improve their films. This option is helpful, for example, with editing techniques or film length.
“I think that the most rewarding thing about the festival for aspiring filmmakers is the pre-submission,” Perrault said, “because they get an opportunity to get feedback from highly experienced judges who have been in the television and film industry for years and can really offer them a lot of help.”
Pre-submissions are due May 2. The judges will privately review May 3, before the feedback session with filmmakers May 4.
Final submissions are due May 30 for judges’ private review.
Prizes and awards will be given for a number of categories including “Best Dramatic Short Film,” “Best Comic Short Film,” “Most Promising Filmmaker,” “Best Commercial” and “Best Editing.”
Official submission forms are available at theatredance.ucdavis.edu by clicking “Current Season” then “Film Festival.” The format for submissions is either Mini DV (HD or Standard) or Data DV – containing high quality AVI computer file without compression.
The screening for the festival will take place June 4 and 5 from 7 to 8:40 p.m. at Varsity Theatre on Second Street.
A collection box for submissions is located in the theatre and dance department main office, located at 222 Wright Hall. For more information, contact Paris Perrault at pdperrault@ucdavis.edu
SONIA PARECADAN can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com.
LAYOUT: Shadow box
Dates to Remember:
UC Davis Film Festival
May 2
Pre-submissions due
May 3 to 4
Private review and feedback session
May 30
Final submissions due
June 4 to 5
Film Festival at the Varsity Theatre
For more information, visit “Current Season, Film Festival” at theatredance.ucdavis.edu.XXX
