Frederick Community College is transforming into Hollywood for one night only for the second annual Student Film Festival.
The film festival is set for 6 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at FCC’s Jack B. Kussmaul Theatre on campus. Admission to the event is free, but you must reserve a spot online at www.frederick.edu, under the “Arts” tab.
The Student Film Festival is dedicated to highlighting the talents of the students enrolled in the college, and how the art of film brings people together. The films range from the categories of short film to animation.
Jason Santelli and Melissa Sly brought the festival to life last year and decided to keep it going.
“I had this idea back in 2017,” said Santelli, a teacher at FCC who focuses on film and video production. “And it kept getting pushed back and back. And then finally, last spring, it just started happening really fast.”
Last year, 25 films were submitted. This year, there are 21 films and animations submitted in counting. There is no sort of competition when it comes to the festival. All films are presented to showcase the talents of the students. Santelli stated, “It’s a unique, no pressure opportunity for film students to screen their work in the festival amongst family, friends, and the community.”
Sly exclaimed how excited she is to have so much support surrounding the festival and film community. “We had a lot of support too along the way. Supervisors above us, the department chair, and I think for this semester, the provost is expected to be there, which is huge support,” she said.
Owen Paugh, 20, of Frederick, is a second-year film student at FCC. He is submitting a film to the festival this year. Paugh submitted a film at last year’s festival titled, “Happy Together”, which he stated was “very well-received by the audience.” It was a romantic comedy thriller about a couple who face a stalker filled with twists and turns.
He is preparing to have a lot more in store this year for the festival.
“This year, I’m submitting all of my animation work, a video, and two short films that I’m just acting in.,” he said. “We worked so hard on these films for months on end in the classroom and it’s nice that they throw this together for every film student to showcase their work.”
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