SunDeis returns with a focus on students
This year's film festival's goal is providing an outlet for students' works rather than honoring industry experts.
by Andrea Fineman
Managing Editor
Arts | 3/11/08
Posted online at 1:41 AM EST on 3/11/08
"One of our goals this year was to have making a film be a little more accessible," said SunDeis communications director Matt Brown '08. In the past, the film festival has focused on bringing in big-name film industry speakers and honorees in order to create interest among students. This year, Brown and the rest of the planning committee are instituting a few changes to the conference's format.
One change is the introduction of the 48-Hour Film Festival, which took place last weekend. Participants of all skill levels were allowed to make a film for submission, provided the film followed a few arbitrary rules such as inclusion of a particular character or lines of dialogue and was shot and edited entirely within 48 hours. The competition was truly open to all students "because people can get equipment from the Getz Media Lab" (Goldfarb Library), said Brown.
The creation of new categories, including "Alternative Film," which Brown described as "something a little random, something YouTube-ish," and "Unfilmed Screenplay," made the festival more accessible to Brandeis students.
Despite the increase in student involvement, the festival doesn't dispense with celebrity panels. "We have a lot of alumni in the entertainment industry," Brown said. This year's festival will see appearances by Michael Jacobs, creator of Boy Meets World and Dinosaurs; Tony Goldwyn '82, director of 2006's The Last Kiss; and Sam Weisman M.F.A. '73, director of D2: The Mighty Ducks. Goldwyn will receive the first-ever SunDeis Alumni Achievement Award at the awards ceremony on Sunday night.
According to SunDeis founder Arnon Shorr '05, before SunDeis, there weren't many opportunities for students to showcase their filmmaking work.
"I had made a bunch of short films and there wasn't really a venue for them, there wasn't really a way for me to get any sort of audience into a room," he said. A lot of film festivals were intended for filmmakers with more experience than amateur college students.
This year's SunDeis received 38 submissions from college students, including from Brandeis. Most of the films come from nearby New England schools, but some come from as far away as Columbia College in?Chicago. Twenty of the films were chosen to be screened at the festival. Topics range from poverty in Bolivia to a lonely zombie to a little boy who walks in on his parents having sex. With thematic content ranging from social justice to flesh-eating fun, SunDeis promises to be nothing if not varied.
One change is the introduction of the 48-Hour Film Festival, which took place last weekend. Participants of all skill levels were allowed to make a film for submission, provided the film followed a few arbitrary rules such as inclusion of a particular character or lines of dialogue and was shot and edited entirely within 48 hours. The competition was truly open to all students "because people can get equipment from the Getz Media Lab" (Goldfarb Library), said Brown.
The creation of new categories, including "Alternative Film," which Brown described as "something a little random, something YouTube-ish," and "Unfilmed Screenplay," made the festival more accessible to Brandeis students.
Despite the increase in student involvement, the festival doesn't dispense with celebrity panels. "We have a lot of alumni in the entertainment industry," Brown said. This year's festival will see appearances by Michael Jacobs, creator of Boy Meets World and Dinosaurs; Tony Goldwyn '82, director of 2006's The Last Kiss; and Sam Weisman M.F.A. '73, director of D2: The Mighty Ducks. Goldwyn will receive the first-ever SunDeis Alumni Achievement Award at the awards ceremony on Sunday night.
According to SunDeis founder Arnon Shorr '05, before SunDeis, there weren't many opportunities for students to showcase their filmmaking work.
"I had made a bunch of short films and there wasn't really a venue for them, there wasn't really a way for me to get any sort of audience into a room," he said. A lot of film festivals were intended for filmmakers with more experience than amateur college students.
This year's SunDeis received 38 submissions from college students, including from Brandeis. Most of the films come from nearby New England schools, but some come from as far away as Columbia College in?Chicago. Twenty of the films were chosen to be screened at the festival. Topics range from poverty in Bolivia to a lonely zombie to a little boy who walks in on his parents having sex. With thematic content ranging from social justice to flesh-eating fun, SunDeis promises to be nothing if not varied.
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