Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Film Festival Revamped, Revived

Still rolling after 10 years, GUTV’s annual film festival is seeking to boost its presence on campus this year with free admission and more submissions.

When the film festival premiered in 2001, there was not much of a film presence on the Hilltop. The founders hoped it would provide a forum and outlet for students to express themselves through creative filmmaking, according to Minjoon Kim (MSB ’12), who is chairing GUTV’s upcoming 2011 Film Festival.

In the first few years following its creation, student films flowed in at the rate of 30 to 40 submissions per year. However, interest has begun to dwindle, and the festival only received seven or eight submissions in 2010.

“I suspect that it probably had to do with the ticket prices, which I’m committed to taking away this year,” Kim said. “We’re not going to be charging for tickets anymore.”

In the past, ticket prices ranged from $5 to $7 for both nights of screenings. Students who submitted films in the past were not excluded from the ticket prices and had to pay to see their own work screened at the festival.

“If you want to attend these events but you can’t, you lose that initial interest, and it’s that much more difficult for us to capture that again in future years,” Kim said.

“The film festival is supposed to be a forum where people with different strengths can meet people with interest in film,” Kim said.

In previous years, the festival served as an arena for student filmmakers to collaborate, including Brit Marling (COL ’05), Mike Cahill (COL ’01) and Zal Batmanglij (COL ’02). Collectively, the trio was featured at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for two films: “Another Earth” and “Sound of My Voice.”

The festival is being revamped to revive the Hilltop’s film tradition. The number of submissions for the 2011 festival has already surpassed last year’s number. Kim mentioned that there is a wealth of resources available for aspiring filmmakers, including production equipment rentals and tutorials offered through the Gelardin New Media Center at Lauinger Library.

“There’s really just no better time to help make film a more prominent presence here at Georgetown” said Kim.

This year’s festival will run from Friday, April 8 to Saturday, April 9. Categories include short films, feature-length films and documentaries. The 2011 festival will also boast the categories of animation, audio documentaries and music videos.

There is no fee to enter, and submissions are due by March 25.

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