The Kelly Writers House is running its second annual Five Minute Film Fest with a screening on Dec. 2.
Submissions to the Film Fest, which were open through Nov. 18, will be evaluated for awards across a number of categories. Films must be less than five minutes long and uploaded to Penn Box to be evaluated.
The first Five Minute Film Fest, which took place in October of last year, screened 10 films. Award categories included Best Concept, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Script, and Best Picture.
KWH Digital Projects Manager Zach Carduner is in charge of selecting which films will be screened and receive awards. He explained that the goal of Film Fest was for KWH to recognize cinema and screenwriting to a greater extent.
“We started it last year just sort of wanting to create a program that gives students more of a chance to express themselves,” Carduner said. “We felt like we didn’t really represent screenwriting very well … we never really had a chance to showcase work produced by students in the realm of screenwriting.”
The original deadline for submitting films was Oct. 24, but has since been extended to 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 18.
“One thing I’m seeing is that people tend to run it to the last minute,” Carduner said. “So we’re hoping people will kind of rush everything in last minute.”
Many of the Kelly Writers House initiatives focus on mediums such as books or poems. Carduner expressed that screenwriting holds a unique power that the Film Fest intends to highlight.
“It’s taking advantage of a medium that we’re all programmed, in a way, to respond to,” Carduner said. “It’s what you do with it that sets you apart.”
College senior Ejun Hong took home the Best Picture award for her film “Echoing, it doesn’t stop” at the Film Fest last year.
“I think it encourages Penn students to create films,” Hong said about the Film Fest. “My freshman year, before the department [of Cinema & Media Studies] changed their curriculum … not a lot of students were encouraged to make films…so I think having these film festivals is really important for Cinema department students.”
The Film Fest encourages students from all schools and departments to submit their films. Hong emphasized the importance of using film to tell a diverse array of stories.
“I think film is so powerful in a way that it could tell stories and empower voices that are often not told in our society,” Hong said. “I always try to use my films to empower underrepresented voices.”
College sophomore Élan Martin-Prashad, a media staffer at KWH, is assisting in the film selection process. She explained how her love for film translates into the power of the Film Fest.
“I love when people get to share the joy of their imagination,” Martin-Prashad said. “For me, that’s what film is all about.”
Martin-Prashad explained that the Film Fest is meant to act as a space to nurture the creativity of students.
“Maybe you’ll find like-minded people and work on another project together, or maybe you’ll discover a passion for filmmaking and visual storytelling that you never knew you had.”
Carduner described the actual event as “more of a watch party” than a formal award ceremony. He encouraged all students to take up the challenge and to attend the screening even if they don’t submit a film.
“Outside the box is great. Inside the box is great. Whatever you have, bring it … no one’s expecting perfection,” Carduner said. “Sometimes when you start shooting, the idea will come out of that. So, why not? What do you have to lose?”
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