What do briefcases, rattlesnakes and the psychosexual have in common? These subjects and more will be featured in the annual University of Toledo Aspiring Filmmakers Showcase.
Presented by the UT Film & Video Society, a student-run organization, and the UT Department of Theatre and Film, this year’s showcase will screen Saturday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Center Theatre.
An eight-member panel of judges made selections for the showcase. The panel included film faculty, two former students from the film program, Debra A. Davis, dean of the College of Communication and the Arts, Holly Monsos, professor of film and associate dean of the College of Communication and the Arts, as well as distinguished creative professionals within the community, Brett Leonard, feature film director and producer, and Dustin Hostetler, graphic artist and illustrator.
“The showcase is a great experience for students not only to see each other’s work, but to see what other students are creating,” said Samantha Muirhead, president of the UT Film Video Society. “Collaboration is the spirit of filmmaking and it is of value to students to realize that often they may be each other’s best resources.”
“This year’s selections were the most competitive that I’ve seen at UT. We use a juried entry process so that our students have real-world experience regarding professional practice,” Monsos, associate chair of the Theatre and Film Department, said. “We have very well-crafted, well-conceived stories to watch, and we had some very good work that wasn’t accepted. It shows how subjective festival acceptance is, and that’s valuable for our students.”
“It is always nice to see your work on the big screen. Nothing compares to having a large audience view and respond to your work,” Muirhead added. “Often in classes your only critique is that of your classmates and your professor, but with the showcase a much larger community can be reached.”
The majority of submissions were from film majors, but the competition is open to any student who created work in the film program’s courses.
Tickets to the showcase cost $5 for the general public and $3 for students and seniors 60 and older.
