Keene State College celebrated the Student Film Fest and Critical Studies Conference from Friday, April 21 to Thursday, April 27.
Both parts of the Capstone Film Premiere opened with a memorial video to late professor and colleague in the Film Studies Department Tom Cook who died on Feb. 17 and some of the other films were dedicated to Cook.
The Capstone Film Premiere was separated into a 1 p.m. session and a 4 p.m. session and was hosted in the Main Theater of the Redfern Arts Center.
The Student Film Fest was organized by Professor Ted White. White said that there was a lot of variety in the Capstone Film Premiere and Film Showcase and that the students have been working on their films all year.
“I think they have done amazing,” White said. “One thing that has been a pleasure to see is how they admire each other’s work.”
Student director and senior David Cespedesdirected a film titled “Technical Difficulties.” Cespedes said that the film is a musical that follows a teenager learning responsibility and accountability.
Additionally, Cespedes said that for his film he had to have the music drive the plot, but also expresses the character’s emotions.
“If emotions are too intense for dialogue, you sing,” Cespedes said.
Cespedes said that the idea for his film was inspired from his sophomore year of high school and the musical aspect was a personal challenge to make a musical.
“This is the second time I have done something with other people,” Cespedes said. “It is like a whole team. More hands were involved and it has kinda been a fun experience.”
Cespedes said that you need to “have the best people you can rely on to create your vision.”
Another student who provided work for the Capstone Film Premiere is senior Chantel Salas, who directed a film titled “The Zorchavis.” Salas said that the film is about the struggle of a family living in a disturbed forest.
“I do not think this film could have happened without [Director of Photography] Nick Scafidi and [Producer and Art Director] Murphy Fitts,” Salas said. “They were both a huge huge process and I was only a fraction of it.”
Salas mentioned that there were obstacles that she and the crew had to overcome throughout making the film such as late-casting for actors and trouble with securing a location.
“Roughly about a month or so before production we lost our location,” Salas said. “Murphy was amazing and was able to get us another location.”
The Critical Studies Conference was organized by Professor Jiwon Ahn and occurred on Friday, April 21, which was followed by the Capstone Film Premiere on Sunday.
The Student Film Fest ended on Thursday at 7 p.m. with the Film Showcase in the Putnam Theater.
Nico Brazill can be contacted at
nbrazill@kscequinox.com
