Gamecocks compete in largest student film festival
More than 100 colleges. Sixteen movies from each college. Five-minute films. Three categories. One chance to have your film shown in Hollywood.
Campus MovieFest, the world’s largest student film festival, has returned for its third year at the University of South Carolina, and multiple teams of USC students filmmakers have submitted their five-minute films. Though an actual number has not been determined, the competition has already seen an increase of participants compared to last year’s turnout of 44 movies, according to J.R. Hardman, the video manager for Campus MovieFest.
“[The festival] has been really popular among students,” Hardman said. “We are just really excited to be back for our third year at USC, and it will be even more excited this year at the finale.”
Out of all the films submitted, only 16 will go on to compete in the final round this Friday. The competition is divided into categories, including Best Picture, Best Comedy and Best Drama.
The prizes for contenders this year will include an Apple TV for the Audience award winner and a 12-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud for the Best Picture winner, as well as many door prizes.
The winners of these categories will not only receive the top prizes, but they will also have their film entered in the national competition that takes place in Hollywood in June. While there, the competing students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops with professionals in the film industry as well as attend the national competition’s awards ceremony.
“In the past, we have had professionals such as actress Elizabeth Banks, actor Jeff Goldblum, director Donald Petrie and the cinematographer from the ‘Dark Knight’ series and ‘Inception’ come out and present the awards,” Hardman said.
Participating students can also be involved in the Distinguished Filmmakers Network, which gives students the chance to gain paid jobs and internships through the competition.
This year’s competition at USC will also feature returning competitors such as fourth-year media arts student Andrew Stamm, whose team has won Best Comedy in the competition for the past two years.
“Winning Best Comedy was really encouraging for me and my young filmmaking career, as well as encouraged my cast and crew to come back another year and try harder,” Stamm said.
Campus MovieFest provides students with the equipment they need to compete, including a Mac laptop and a digital camera. Distribution and filming for all teams began last Monday, and they were given a week to complete their film, no doubt a challenge in itself to these aspiring filmmakers.
“It seems like no matter how much you plan ahead with preproduction and writing, doing all the postproduction in one week is always insane,” Stamm said. “It’s always got its fair share of sleepless nights and heavy workloads, but it’s always worth it.”
Other returning students recognize the benefits of entering the competition, as Hardman has noticed improvement in the students’ filmmaking skills.
“People tend to improve as they participate more,” Hardman said. “Each year, their films get better and better, which is pretty incredible.”
The final round of the competition takes place Friday at 8 p.m. in the Russell House Ballroom. Students are encouraged to attend and walk the red carpet.
All films will soon be available for viewing on the Campus MovieFest website.