Oregon State Student Films Showcased

Greek houses combine forces to show off a unique mix of films
By Shawn Moyer

Student film festivals are a tradition for many universities around the United States. On Wednesday, OSU introduced the Red Carpet Film Festival, an event planners hope to make an annual tradition.

The Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity hosted the event at LaSells Stewart Center.

For the first time in OSU history, students were given the opportunity to express themselves through short films that would be watched and judged by the students in the audience.
Attendees wore dresses and suits as they walked down the red carpet, giving the film festival a Hollywood feel.

With a door prize of an Apple iPod Shuffle and a Mac mini computer going to the maker of the winning video, this film festival was made into more than just a simple student run fundraiser.
“The night ran very smoothly,” said Richie Rich, one of the main organizers of the event.
It was important for this event to run smoothly, because it is the first of what is planned to be an annual event.

The event brought in a crowd of close to 700 people. The net profit from the event, in the range of $4,000, will be donated to YouthAIDS and the Make a Wish Foundation.

All of the Make a Wish Foundation donations will go to the Linn-Benton County branch of the charity.

A wide array of films were shown at the festival, including some lighthearted comedies and some dramatic shorts.

“The films were great,” said Marie Manwarren, an OSU freshman. “I really liked ‘Depth of Vision’ and ‘Facebook’ was really good too.”

“Depth of Vision” by Joe Duerst was the winning film for the night. Its somber and dramatic tone kept the audience on edge all the way through.

“We had a blast creating and presenting our film,” said Gavin Bristol, who played the main male character of “Depth of Vision.” The film incorporated strong acting performances with film editing by Duerst and a friend from Los Angeles who majored in cinematography. Duerst said the whole event was “a real learning experience. It was more than I could have expected.”

The second and third place prizes went to the more comedic films “Piano” and “Fraterday Night,” respectively.

The event was just the maiden voyage for the Red Carpet Film Festival, as even bigger things are in store for the future.

"We are going to secure a performer over the summer for next year and are hoping to get a big name comedian or musical act to attract an even bigger showing,” Rich said.

For questions and information about entry and the event plans for next year, people can direct their e-mails to red_carpet_film_festival@yahoo.com.