Student Film Festival showcases amateur works

Semi-annual event allows student filmmakers a rare chance to shine, flop, or fall somewhere between

By Diana McElwain

Posted on Nov. 25, 2002, at 12:00 a.m.

There is little chance for students who want to become movie directors and producers to develop their talents at the University of Maine. This is where the third semi-annual Film Festival comes into play. Featuring nine films ranging from four to 23 minutes in length, Tuesday night at Donald P. Corbett Business Building was a celebration of films and those who make them.

By far, the most impressive film of the evening was “Star Wars: Attack of the Budget.” A child of Deadeye- Bananovision productions, this refreshingly humorous film followed a commercial for Bananovision, a sketch comedy program in the works at UMaine. The commercial featured Domenic Mascis, the emcee for the event, being stalked through Fogler Library by nothing less than a real banana. The message: Bananovison is coming.

The film produced by the company was even more entertaining, especially to those who have grown sick and tired of the mass marketing and commercialization of “Star Wars.”

The movie tells the story of what would happen if George Lucas were forced to produce a movie on a budget. This resulted in trading light sabers for flashlights and an aluminum foil-covered C3PO who tends to scratch himself — all of which leads to the breakdown of poor Lucas. The professional quality of the film, from production and writing to acting, was impressive.

The film, however, was very much a diamond in the rough — the rough being the other hour and a half’s worth of films that it was nestled in.

On the flip side of the “Star Wars” mocumentary there was “The Message.” The 20- minute drama left the audience too sleepy to decipher its message. The lack of lighting left viewers confused as to the course of events in the movie.

Another film that illustrated the wide variety of the evening was “Wide Awake,” the story of four normal guys on a summer road trip.

While a humorous display of driving and drunkenness, it was hardly what Academy Award winners are made of.

The showing of longer and somewhat painful films was consistently interrupted with shorter and quirkier ones, the work of Paul Ezzy, the man who made this event possible.

“I am the founder and orchestrator. I put up posters to get other people’s films and then I show them. I also get help from my friends, but I generally control the whole thing,” Ezzy said. “Basically, I just reserve 100 DPC for a night about three or four months in advance. Next I advertise the Festival and hope to get submissions. Before the Festival I put together programs and new posters. At about a half hour before the curtain goes up I set things up. Unfortunately 100 DPC’s projector is less than ideal for showing VHS tapes.”

While the equipment was indeed spastic and the attendance was sparse, the evening gave students the rare chance to show off their filmmaking efforts.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 25th, 2002, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.