Emerson Film Festival on March 22

Gabriele Urbonaite '16 has a film, Goodbye, screening at the Emerson Film Festival on Sunday, March 22, in the Paramount Center. (Photo by Nick Eaton '17)

More than a dozen student filmmakers are showcasing their work at the Emerson Film Festival this month for a chance at admission into the Emerson Los Angeles Film Festival in the fall.

The 15^th annual Emerson Film Festival, organized by the Visual and Media Arts Department, will be held Sunday, March 22, at 6:00 pm, in the Bright Family Screening Room of the Paramount Center, where the students’ work will be judged in different categories. Winners will be chosen for the ELA Film Festival, which will be held on a date to be announced.

The Emerson Film Festival has two programs: At 6:00 pm, the first program, Anti-Gravity, includes mostly whimsical fare. At 8:00 pm, the second program, Gravity, includes more serious drama. The films span animation, narrative, documentary, experimental, and more, and were produced both in and out of the classroom by students and alumni.

The festival is followed by a reception at Salvatore’s restaurant at 545 Washington Street, next door to the Paramount Center.

Festival participants include Noah Aust ’14 (How to Make a Nightmare), Sofia Caetano, MFA ’16, (Coisa Bela), Gabriele Urbonaite ’16 (Goodbye), and Matthew Chauby ’17 (All the Difference).

Noah Aust '14 in a promotional photo for How to Make a Nightmare. (Courtesy Photo)

“I'm glad it's getting seen! It makes me feel like a real, live artist,” said Aust, whose horror/gothic film received an award last summer at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Urbonaite recently had a separate film project featured in the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany.

The Emerson festival boasts a variety of unique films. Caetano’s film, Beautiful Thing/Coisa Bela, examines societal standards of beauty. Chauby’s film, All the Difference, is about a businessman with artistic aspirations.

Caetano hopes the festival will give her a push into the world of film. She looks forward to being granted a test run by showing her work to a real audience.

“As a writer/director of short films, festivals are the most interesting outlet to share and publicize my work,” Caetano said.

“It’s always a good feeling to see your film on the big screen,” said Urbonaite.

Anti-Gravity (Program One)

Jon Denton ’18: Le Cygne; An abstract short film exploring the preservation of light, motion, and memory.

Saoli Nash ’15 and Elliot Barnes ’15: Easy; A naïve boy finds himself in an unfortunate situation.

Noah Aust ’14: How to Make a Nightmare; Where do nightmares come from? They’re cooked up in strange, underground laboratories. A dark fairy tale about an ugly job.

J.P. DiSciscio, MFA ’16: Lloyd and the Priest; A young priest’s ideals are challenged when he performs last rites for a dying man with a penchant for nuisance.

Matthew Chauby ’17: All the Difference; A lonely and disillusioned businessman realizes he has gone down the wrong path.

Cooper Vacheron ’16: Very Happy Life; A reflection on a life lived to the fullest.

Sofia Caetano, MFA ’16: Beautiful Thing/Coisa Bela; A woman’s daily appointment at Felizberto’s salon is her sacred ritual and the most vital event of her daily routine.

Jacqui Carriere ’16: Two Stroked: A Love Story; Come along for the ride with Jacqui, Lucian, and the Uglies from Lucky 2 Strokes as they show you their wonderful/horrible world of mopeds.

Gravity (Program Two)

Gabriele Urbonaite ’16: Goodbye; A short story about two people and their last morning together.

Renos Gavris, MFA ’15: Austerity; A story about one man’s personal uprising against severe austerity measures imposed on the common people during the Greek financial crisis.

Dillon Puswald ’15: Brotherhood; During a crisis in his mother’s life, a man returns to his family.

Hao Zheng ’15: Goldfish Alley; A teenager tries to escape home but is held back by his conflicted feelings toward his family.

Daniel Orentlicher ’15 and Zachary Bernstein ’15: Wonderment; A coming of age story about two brothers who take a short journey from home.