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Shepherd communication students and alumnus films to be screened at WV Filmmakers Festival ISSUED: 21 September 2011 Shepherdstown, WV--Three films made by students and alumni of Shepherd University's Department of Communication and New Media have been selected for competition at the 12th annual West Virginia Filmmakers Festival. The Fun in Funeral, a dark comedy, was shot by the fall 2008 Advanced Production class and completed in the summer of 2010 under the supervision of Dr. Jason McKahan, Shepherd University assistant professor of digital filmmaking. The Fun in Funeral made its debut in March at the Department of Communication and New Media's Spring Film festival in Shepherdstown, where it was screened at the local Opera House alongside a collection of other student films. A Chrome Horse and A Diplomat, directed by Shepherd senior Jason Alexander Smith, a communications major from Shepherdstown, will also be screened at the West Virginia Filmmakers Festival. Smith said that the film is the first he's submitted to the festival. The film follows three men on a quest for redemption from wrongdoings in a comedic fashion. "It's cool to have it represented outside of a 30 mile radius of Shepherdstown and Martinsburg," Smith said. "I'm looking forward to meeting other people and show the film to a wider audience." Shepherd alumni SunJae Smith '09, and his wife Mie Smith, who have a video production company, LightSmith Productions, have entered their film, Ai Means Love, in competition. The story follows two families, one from Japan and one from the United States, who are trying to merge two cultures and how they come together in the end. "This is a profound achievement for our faculty, students, and alumni," said Dr. Kevin Williams, chair of the Department of Communication and New Media. "Recognition on this level is indicative of our growth and confirmation that our Project to Publication program, in which student work is to be published for mass consumption and critique, is working. The material that Shepherd communication students create is being seen by real people, not just professors, and vetted through real institutions; Dr. McKahan is preparing graduates to work at the highest level." The West Virginia Filmmakers Festival is run by the West Virginia Filmmaker's Guild and is dedicated to showcasing the work of the best and brightest filmmakers in West Virginia. "This was a deeply competitive submission process this year," said Patrick Felton, director of the West Virginia Filmmakers Festival. "We can honestly say that your film was among the cream of the crop." The festival runs from September 29 to October 2 at the Elk Theater and Landmark Studio for the Arts in Sutton. The 30 selected films will compete in seven categories for over $2,000 in cash prizes. The films that premiere at the festival are made by, for, and about West Virgina. McKahn said it has been several years since a film has been submitted by Shepherd students. The official selection of the films into competition comes on the heels of a newly remodeled communication facility in Knutti Hall, including a cutting-edge instructional computer lab and television studio that will result in new educational opportunities and provide communications students with professional experience in broadcast and online digital media production. -30- |
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Jason Alexander Smith
Dr. Jason McKahan
SunJae Smith
Faculty member Monica Larson (r.) talks to a student in the newly remodeled computer lab in Knutti Hall. |
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