Mason Film Festival Spring 2015 May 7-8-9 in Johnson Center Cinema

Mason Film Festival Spring 2015 May 7-8-9 in Johnson Center Cinema

Come join us at the Mason Film Festival Spring 2015

 

At the end of each Spring and Fall semester, Film and Video Studies faculty and students curate a screening of student films. This event is open to the entire university community. 

This Spring, the Mason Film Festival is a three-day program in the Johnson Center Cinema, representing Beginning Video, Intermediate directing work in fiction, and Senior Films. Senior films are the culmination and capstone for Film and Video Studies majors in the BA for students with Video Production and Screenwriting Concentrations. Our Senior Program is juried by a panel of filmmaking professionals, film scholars, and enthusiasts, including members of our FAVS Advisory Board and affiliated faculty. The jury awards prizes to students in Fiction Comedy, Fiction Drama, Documentary, Cinematography, Editing, Sound Design, and Best of Fest.
 
Attendees at the Festival vote on the top Senior Film for each block: this year we will present three Audience Awards. 
 
Included in this year's program is a pitch competition, in which rising Seniors who are about to shoot their Senior Projects pitch to a jury of board members. The jury awards prizes for Best Digital Pitch (a prior submission) as well as Best In-Person Pitch Performance and Idea. The funds awarded are intended to help our students produce their films in the coming months.

Free and open to the public.  

Screening schedule:

Thursday, May 7
5:00-7:00 pm FAVS 255 screening block
7:15-9:15 pm Fiction Directing 1 (Professor Steger)

Friday, May 8
5:30-7:00 pm FAVS 498 Pitches
7:15-9:15 pm Fiction Directing 2 (Professor Chesler)

Saturday, May 9
12:00-2:15 pm Senior Films block 1 
2:30-4:30 pm Senior Films block 2
4:45-6:45 pm Senior Films block 3
7:00-8:30 pm Festival closing party

 

 

Senior Films (plus websites and trailers), by screening blocks:

12pm Block One (Family friendly) (106 mins)

 
Director of Photography Reel, Chris Franklin (2 min)
 
Looking into the Lens by Kassandra Bumgarner. A documentary exploring the community of content creators on YouTube. (6 mins)
 
Totally Normal by Abby Paver. A quirky comedy about an OCD couple just scraping by to make a living in the windy city of Chicago. (12 mins)
 
Princess Strong by Erin Smith Documentary (6 mins) 
 
Once Were by Stephanie Ugwuibe If you meet your so-called soulmate and it doesn’t work out, were they really your soulmate? (15 mins) 
 
Stellar Man by Erin McCann Trailer (2 mins)
 
Not a Laughing Matter
 by Chris Gatewood A video essay comparing the depictions of interventions in sitcoms. (10 mins)
 
Cowboy Bebop - The Introspective Dream by Andrew Schoenberger Documentary (10 mins)
 
Living Arrangements by Heather Hallman. A short fiction film about a widow who struggles with accepting her husband's illegitimate son. (6 mins)
 
The Phoenix Initiative by Daniel Lagdameo Documentary (15 mins) A young man explores Renaissance Humanism while facing personal struggles. (15 mins)
 
Finding Annabelle by Micayla Charles  Mixed mode (7 mins)
 
Summer's Long Vacation by Rob Whitt. A whimsical story about an unmotivated teenager named Summer who feels he doesn't get the respect he deserves from his family. (15 mins)
 
 

2:30pm Block Two (Some Adult Content, Discretion Advised) (113 min)

 

French Fry Phantom by Joseph Yates A behind-the-scenes comedy about an inept college student's attempt to produce his senior thesis play, French Fry Phantom. (9 mins)
 
Jihad: A Self-Love Story by Sumayyah Al-Shingieti. Sumayya decides to show her struggle with identity in a documentary. Overwhelmed by circumstances, she enters a surreal state, torn between past and present. (9 mins)
 
I.D. Me by Teresa Vizcarra Webseries pilot (8 mins)
 
True Stories of a Shop Girl by Becky Bastien. A darkly comic webseries, following the post-graduate life of Abby Miller. (9 mins)
 
A New Chapter by Jason Cortez. A drama in which Ava must land a job in order to pay for her mother's medical treatment. (9 mins) 
 
Fraternship by Rodney Lee Fiction (5 mins)
 
Cafe Kreyol by Scott Cooper. A short film about "Coffee Hunter" and former drug addict Joey Stazzone as he travels throughout Central America to aid coffee farmers. (12 mins)
 
Camera Conscious by Thomas Kavanagh. A comedy about a filmmaker who records his friends for an honest reality show that ends up going awry when doubts about their audience kick in. (9 mins)
 
L.U.C.I.U.S. (Chivalry is Dead) by Silvia Pak Animated dramedy (5 mins)
 
Waves by Kevin Kotwas Fiction (15 mins)
 
El Guapo by Brendan Gottlieb. A wild animated adventure featuring the dashingly handsome Guapo. (4 mins)
 
Unbearably Fierson by Chris Lancashire A once great theater director is invited by his estranged daughter for an urgent announcement. (15 mins)
 

4:45pm Block Three (Adult Content, Children Not Recommended) (114 mins)

 
Apocalypse Cal by Evan McLeese. A mockumentary about a right-wing doomsday prepper named Cal, who becomes convinced that the world will end the day after filming begins. (15 mins)
 
Rudy Snoodles by Conor Kyle In a "Muppets Show"-style world, an aging actor attempts to reconnect with his former costar. (15 mins)
 
Escape by Cassandra Saunders  In this psychological thriller, a patient creates a world in which she can take matters into her own hands. (7 mins)
 
Fingers Crossed by James W. Mead A thriller in which a young woman framed for the murder of her fiancé tries to clear her name and expose the culprit. (6 mins)
 
 
Control and Chaos: The Films of Paul W.S. Anderson by Molly Faust Video essay (15 mins)
 
Suits & Scales by Yves Beneche Two best friends are living on both sides of the law, attorneys by day and drug dealers by night. (10 mins)
 
The Jig is Up! by Miko Dalusung Comedy (15 mins)
 
That Was Nice by Farrell Tapscott Comedy (13 mins)
 
Leroy's Lobster Shack by Sean Mercado. A dark comedy about an unemployed man and a malevolent lobster. (12 mins)
 
Leave Everything Behind by Ege Yildirim Drama (6 mins)
 
 
 
 
Information: 
Rebekah Mejorado
Program Coordinator, Film & Video Studies
rmejorad@gmu.edu
703-993-FAVS (3287)
 
Sponsored by Film and Video Studies (FAVS), Film and Media Studies (FAMS), the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), and Delta Kappa Alpha (DKA). 

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