Best of the Best Film Fest Gives Students Opportunity to Showcase Their Work
The film festival features two distinct evenings of student films in a variety of genres.
by Elizabeth Allison
January 30, 2020
January 30, 2020
Featuring a variety of documentaries, dramatic fiction, comedies, and animated short films, the Best of the Best Film Fest showcases the broad spectrum of voices and perspectives that film students bring to their craft.
The films featured in the Best of the Best Film Fest are written, produced, and edited by students enrolled at San Diego State University’s Television, Film, and New Media (TFM) program and recent graduates. The festival runs Feb. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Don Powell Theatre.
The program includes films that address a wide range of cultural and socio-political themes through a variety of genres, including drama, comedy, horror, and hybrid genres.
“These films represent some of the strongest work produced in the TFM program,” said Greg Durbin, area head for SDSU’s TFM program. “In many cases, the filmmakers whose work is featured have already begun to achieve wide recognition for their films.”
Showcasing Student Talent
Students work collaboratively to complete their films, with film crews often growing to as many as twenty students on a single project.
The filmmakers in the TFM program serve as the directors, producers, editors, writers and camera operators to ensure that their films are the highest-possible quality, both artistically and technically. For many of them, the Best of the Best Film Fest presents the first opportunity to share their film with a large audience.
“It’s very humbling to see your classmates attend and support each other’s work,” said TFM production student David Cortez. “We all put a lot of effort into every film and I am always impressed by what my peers come up with.”
Faculty in the TFM program advise students throughout the filmmaking process and encourage them to create films they are passionate about. Through the support of the faculty and resources of the School of Theatre, Television, and Film, students are able to create the films they envision.
“Making it into a festival and seeing other peoples films brings a friendly competition and challenges us to want to continue doing the best work that we possibly can,” said Cortez.
“We all have a really strong connection with each other and can say that it makes us really happy to find out when one of the films we were a part of gets to be in a festival.”
Ticket Information
Both nights of the Best of the Best Film Fest run roughly 90 minutes. General admission tickets cost $10 and can be purchased online or at the Don Powell Theatre box office.
The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.
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