Applications for NSU’s annual Undergraduate Film Festival will be accepted from Jan. 5 to Feb. 20.
The festival is part of the Undergraduate Student Symposium, which is hosted by the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. All films will be shown in April at the Undergraduate Student Symposium in the Performance Theatre in the Don Taft University Center.
In the festival, undergraduate students compete to see who can create the best film. The students serve as directors of their films and create a three to seven-minute film centered on this year’s academic theme of identity. The first and second-place winners will receive a small cash prize.
Associate Professor Weylin Sternglanz runs the Undergraduate Film Festival with Associate Professor Chetachi Egwu, said that about three to 10 students participate each year.
“Creating a film is a collaborative endeavor; students learn to work together and have an innovative end product to show for it,” Sternglanz said. “Students who create films also learn invaluable technical and creative skills, which give them a significant advantage when applying to graduate programs in film or media studies and positions in advertising, business, media and technology.”
Sternglanz said that once there is a final list of who will compete, dates for film workshops will be announced. These workshops will show students techniques for writing and how to use equipment.
Egwu said that this contest pushes students to really show what they are capable of.
“If there are second thoughts about competing, then this isn’t for you. We want workers,” she said.
Alexa Rea, freshman biology major, said she would be interested in participating.
“I was always interested in film when I was young. Knowing that there’s a competition coming up soon makes me want to try it out,” she said.
Students interested in participating need to contact their academic division or college for more information. To see the criteria for participation, visit NSU’s film festival homepage at fcas.nova.edu/student/student_symposium/film_festival.cfm.
