UF students will become filmmakers today.
This year, the university will participate in Campus MovieFest, the world’s largest student film festival, for the first time. Starting today, students who registered will pick up a camera, sound equipment, a MacBook with Adobe Creative Cloud, a hard drive and a tripod from the Reitz Union.
For the festival, student teams submit films up to five minutes long, said Alex McGill, a promotions manager for Campus MovieFest. There is no limit to how many students can be on a team. Reitz Union Board Entertainment worked to bring the festival to campus, the 23-year-old said.
“Our whole purpose is to give students a voice and give students a platform for their voice,” she said.
On Monday, filming will stop and equipment will be collected, McGill said.
The top 16 films will be shown in the Reitz Union Auditorium on April 14, she said. A panel of eight to 15 students, faculty and staff will decide which films are played. The top four films will be sent to the national competition in Atlanta this summer, she said.
Eddie Datz, a UF theatre freshman, said he plans on filming Florida Players, a student-run theater company. He said he and a friend will make a behind-the-scenes film about the group. The film will double as a promotional video for his upcoming play, “In the Heights.”
Will Hsiung, a UF digital arts and sciences senior, said he heard about the festival in Fall 2015 and pitched the idea to UF’s Student Senate. While he doesn’t know what he wants to film yet, he wants to make a drama with action, the 21-year-old said. He said he’s happy the festival gives students a chance to try something they might not ordinarily do.
“There’s just so much out there,” he said. “So much to learn.”
