The Boston Student Arts Network’s first ever Boston Student Film Fest was a perfect fit for College of Communication senior Evan Moore’s ten-minute film about a cynic literary critic’s subconscious.
“[The film] has been surprisingly well-received,” he said. “Someone I’ve never met actually looked me up on Facebook after the BU screening and said that it was ‘beautiful’ and that she wanted to watch it again.”
Moore is one of four Boston University students selected as finalists in BSAN’s month-long online film festival, according to a March 19 BSAN press release.
Among the 12 finalists are COM senior Alan Rill Causey, COM graduate student Joe Dryer and COM graduate student David Charpentier.
The fest showcases works by graduate and undergraduate students all over New England and accepts movies fewer than 30 minutes of all genres and subject matters.
Kelly Soule, the founder and director of BSAN, said there is “simply nothing like it already in place,” and the film fest fills a void among other festivals.
“Where there are students out there who submit their films to all festivals possible, there are those who aren’t gunning to become feature filmmakers, but still want the opportunity to share their work,” she said in an email interview. “BSFF can be a middle between the two and just be a medium to show off great student films to the public.”
The BSAN staff chose the finalists out of 25 submissions after reviewing their content and technical skills used, Soule said.
Since its launch on March 12, there have been more than 1,000 site visitors and more than 600 total plays of the films, she said. The film fest will continue through April 6.
Charpentier submitted a narrative short film called “Aperitif,” a five-minute tale of a woman’s social drinking leading to a night of unpleasantness with her husband.
“This piece is about the confusion of drinking, the awkwardness certain people experience in these situations, the mix of happiness and regret and the after effects — the uncomfortable repercussions and the catharsis and the impact that has on a relationship,” he said in an email interview.
Charpentier said creating this film was a personal journey.
“The process of creating this project, or any project, is about learning about and improving upon what has been done before,” he said. “For the creator . . . it can also provide a certain emotional release; a divestment of certain issues whether they be political, social or personal.”
Charpentier said he sees this film fest as a stepping-stone for his film career.
“At this stage in my career, I’m trying to build a reel and get some notice for my work and team,” he said. “Winning [the film fest] would be another step in climbing this ladder to eventually making movie features.”
Dwyer submitted a four-minute hybrid of multiple projects from the fall semester titled “Morning Murder Mystery,” he said. The film focuses on a Halloween party that gets slightly out of control.
“For my screenwriting class we had to write a short screenplay, and then for my Production I class our final film had to be a short film with no dialogue,” he said. “So I thought, ‘Why not just combine the two?’”
Moore said he considers winning secondary. Exposure as a filmmaker is the ultimate goal.
“It’s always affirming to win things,” he said. “It makes you feel like you’re doing something right, but as long as people are watching the film and getting something out of it, I’m happy enough with that.”
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