In mid-February, Film Club President, Tyler Jones ’12 and Film Club Vice President of Special Projects, Sara Simons ’12 hosted the 2012 Chaminade Film Festival. Coordinated by Film Program Director, Karen Thumm, the festival welcomed 150 people for the screening of 24 student films. Screenings were divided into four categories; Narrative without Dialogue (short format), Experimental, Narrative with Dialogue (long format), and Documentary. The awards for Best Film in a category were presented at the end of each category screening. When the screenings concluded, audience members voted for the Official Audience Selection, which was presented along with individual achievement awards.
THE WINNERS
Best Narrative without Dialogue: “Limitless” submitted by Writer/Director/Composer Alex Mansour ’15; A young man bound to a wheelchair after a car accident dreams that he stands up to a bully and asks out a pretty girl. This dream propels him to come to peace with his identity.
Best Experimental: “Violet’s Hill” submitted by Writer/Producer/Director/Editor Taylor Dave ’12; Violet turns to drugs after not being able to cope with her own life and journeys into a world of her subconscious where she soon finds herself trapped, unable to escape. In her reality, she attempts to drown herself and is lifted out of the water by an “angel” who saves her.
Best Narrative with Dialogue: “Light” submitted by Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Collin Levin ’12; A son and father reconnect after years of not talking.
Best Documentary: “The Making of Filmmakers” submitted by Director Alec Kargodorian, Edited by Breeana Kovelman ’14, Camera Work by Desiree Terani ’13; Discover how students who are part of Chaminade Film Program prepare for a future career in the film industry.
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Best Actress: Liz Holland ’14 for her role as “Amy” in Desiree Terani’s film “Imagine That”
Best Actor: Dylan Wallace Baird ’12 for his role as “Comedy” in Dominic Hutchinson’s “Comedy & Tragedy”
Outstanding Achievement, Production Design:Griffin Davies ’15 for “Hotel California”
Best Production Design: Eloise Perrochet ’14 for “Driving Me Crazy”
Outstanding Achievement, Original Concept: Rebecca Kuntz ’12 for “Remains of the Day”
Best Screenplay: Hayley Bricker ’14 for “Freedom”
Outstanding Achievement, Cinematography: Desiree Terani ’13 for “Imagine That”, and Conner DeMita ’13 for “Money Box”
Best Cinematography: Alec Kargodorian ’14 for “Reality”
Outstanding Editing: Sara Marie Simons ’12 for “Be On Time: Check”, and Kyle Conemac ’12 for “Comedy and Tragedy”
Outstanding Achievement, Writing and Directing: Breeana Kovelman ’14 for “Lucky Day”, and Dominic Hutchinson ’13 for “Comedy and Tragedy”
OFFICIAL AUDIENCE SELECTION (based on audience vote the night of the festival)
“Blue Eyes” submitted by Writer/Director/Editor Liz Holland, Produced by Kyle Kennan, Camera work by Aaron Jacobs; Sammy and Alex’s mother has died, and they are left alone to cope with this. In the two timelines of the film, we see how they are plagued with the difficulty of being alone and how they can turn to each other for support.
THE JUDGES
Four prominent members of the film industry donated their time and expertise to serve as judges and present the award for Best Film in their respective categories.
Wayne Kennan, Director of Photography, has had a career spanning 35 years. He is best known for the television series, Seinfeld, and is currently in production on Rules of Engagement. He has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers for fifteen years
Kris Pearn started his career in film as an animator for 20th Century Fox working on movies such as Anastasia and Titan AE. At Sony Pictures Animation, he was head of story on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and is currently co-directing the sequel.
Lisa Hamil is best known as a casting director and producer. Among her recent accolades, OKA!, which Hamil cast, opened in theaters last year. She is currently in post-production on her directorial debut Right Next Door, which she co-wrote and directed with Nicholas David Brandt.
María Elena de las Carreras, MA, Ph.D. is a Fulbright scholar and film critic from Argentina. She is a regular collaborator of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, the Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles and the CSUN Cinematheque. Since 2007, she has been a screener of international documentaries for the Sundance Film Festival