Student films hit big screen at the Gateway

Megan Neary
Mon, 30 Mar 2015 03:05:13 +0000
Events, Movies, film and video society, gateway film center, mosaic magazine, student film festival

The 2015 Student Film Festival is set to be held at the Gateway Film Center on Wednesday, showcasing 12 short films from OSU students.

The festival is being hosted by Ohio State student organizations Film and Video Society and Mosaic Magazine, and is the second of what the society hopes will be an annual event.

The films, chosen from 35 submissions, will be screened at 7 p.m. and each will be introduced by its director. The screenings are expected to last about two hours, followed by an after-party in the Gateway’s lounge with free food and soft drinks, according to the president of OSU’s Film and Video Society, Adam Skov.

“(The festival) is a blast for filmmakers, film lovers and students who just want to see some entertaining movies and eat some food, all for free,” said Matt Hendrix, a fourth-year in film studies and video production and treasurer of the Film and Video Society. “It is a way to showcase student work to their peers and the Columbus community, an opportunity not readily available to the film students here on campus. Although the film community is strong, it is small and doesn’t have an abundance of resources or opportunities to experience real elements of the industry.”

Matthew Swift, program coordinator for OSU’s Film Studies program and one of the festival’s three judges, said the judges assign each film two numbers from one to 10. The first number rates the objective, technical aspects of the film and the second number rates subjective aspects of the film, such as how much the judge liked it. All of the judges’ numbers are then averaged together to give each film a single score and the movies are then ranked. This process was used to select the top three submissions, which will be revealed at the festival. The top three filmmakers receive $100, $50 or $25 Amazon gift cards as prizes. .

Swift said the show includes “a nice mix of kinda every kind of film that you might see,” including documentary and animation.

Skov, a fourth-year in business and graduate student in Chinese, said the festival is a great opportunity for students.

“Nowadays there’s a lot of student filmmakers at OSU and all over the world and sharing films is easier than ever before, but rarely do you get to see your film in something like a movie theater,” he said.

Skov added that he appreciates the diversity of the films and filmmakers.

“I would encourage other people to take the opportunity to see something you wouldn’t usually see at a local movie theater and see something made by people you pass on the Oval every day,” Skov added.

Tickets are free the day of the event and doors will open around 6:45 p.m.