As they rolled out the red carpet, audience members arrived at McAlister Auditorium for popcorn, company and cinema. The fourth annual Tulane Student Film Festival — orchestrated by the strategy, leadership and analytics minor and digital media practices coordinate major — commemorated the achievements of Tulane’s student filmmakers.
With a record number of 49 submissions and a considerable $10,000 in funding, the Tulane Student Film Festival continues to raise the bar every year.
The SLAM film festival course students organized the festival entirely, handling marketing on the Tulane University campus, landing sponsorships from Bubs, Canes, Poppi and more. The class aims to teach students the inner workings of the film and event planning industry, allowing them to learn by doing it themselves and giving them hands-on experiences to prepare for their futures in big-time production.
Nineteen exceptional short films graced the big screen of McAlister Auditorium, but accolades were only awarded to an outstanding few.
“EVE” by Noah Levine took home the jury award for exceptional cinematography, artistic creativity and production. “EVE” is a hair-raising thriller with an unclear yet stimulating storyline about the darkness of familial dynamics, self-identity and the cynicism of love.
As Levine’s senior capstone film, “EVE,” drew inspiration from his love for “freaky and experimental concepts.” He hoped to tap into the audience’s inner child, questioning the innate nature of love in parental relationships. He “wanted to make something weird,” in his words. That he did — and ended up with the award of highest praise at the Tulane Student Film Festival.
Eliza Mullins and Ela Moss received the cinematography award for “The Song You Sung,” a romantic still-photo story with a faint, eerie tone. Inspired by films like “Call Me by Your Name” or “Before Sunrise,” this film highlights the subtle yet significant movements in a classic lover’s tale.
The screenwriting award went to Julian Hewitt’s “The Great Harvest,” a supernatural comic book thriller grappling with larger themes of governmental relations, authority and the crippling responsibility of having great power. With a natural attraction to tragically destined characters, Hewitt drew inspiration from the comic book genre as a whole. He wrote “The Great Harvest” as an homage to his close friends in high school, claiming “the ambitious projects we made in high school,” and the joy they brought him, shaped his love for filmmaking.
Olive Wheadon’s “T.Osborne” and Oliver Scheier’s “I, Disability II” also received honorable mentions at the film festival.
In between the two screenings, students enjoyed free food from Raising Cane’s and La Cocinita, sponsors of the film festival. As the moviegoers mingled and munched, they had the opportunity to speak with filmmakers, faculty and their classmates who contributed to the festival and tune into a Q&A with the film directors after each block of films.
I like to think of myself as an independent thinker, but my favorite movie was coincidentally the fan favorite, “The Oddities of Professor Kleb” by Brielle Tyler. Based on audience votes, Tyler took home the honor of “best picture.” Filling the auditorium with uproarious laughter, the horror-thriller film set in the Howard Tilton Memorial Library develops into a wacky comedy.
Given that the film festival is only four years old, the quality, growth and prominence of the production demonstrate Tulane’s commitment to fostering student creativity. This writer is excited to see what’s to come for future years of the Tulane Student Film Festival as it continues to nurture student filmmakers.