While film buffs will have to wait until the end of the month for the Oscars, Boston University students will be able to get their award show fix Feb. 9 at the annual BU Redstone Film Festival.
The Redstones, held in the Tsai Performance Center, provide a unique opportunity for the BU community to observe the rising talents of the BU Film Program.
Students with film entries enter the contest and have their short films screened before an audience, while those who submit screenplays can enter the Fleder-Rosenberg short screenplay contest.
Both honors come with cash prizes.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to gather the BU Film community,” said Alvaro Congosto, a COM graduate student who is entering his short film “Seashells.”
“Almost everyone in our community either has worked on one of the selected pieces or knows someone who has,” Congosto said. “That’s what makes the Redstones popular.”
The Redstones have filled the 500-capacity Tsai Performance Center every year since their inception, said Scott Thompson, the faculty producer for the Redstones.
The Redstone Film Festival was established in 1970 with the sponsorship of Sumner Redstone, Chairman of VIACOM, as a way for aspiring filmmakers to display their work for the University, according to the College of Communication website.
Graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to submit their projects, and all students are welcome to attend.
Films this year range from Jason Hellerman’s “Flesh Eaters,” a horror comedy in which a boy struggles with the idea that eating the body of Christ makes him a zombie, to Dimitri Kouri’s “Salty Dogs,” a serene documentary about fisherman in Winthrop.
The Redstones have historically acted as a springboard for the careers of those trying to enter the Hollywood industry, Thompson said.
Gary Fleder, director of “Runaway Jury” and screenwriter Steve Brill of “The Mighty Ducks,” along with several other producers and other behind-the-camera workers entered the competition during their tenure at BU.
Even Joe Roth, the former head of Fox Studios and Walt Disney Studios, once made a submission.
The success of previous entrees is an exciting prospect to the entrants.
“Fleder-Rosenberg is such a great competition to have in COM and backed by some huge names,” said H aili Dunstan, a COM graduate student who is entering her screenplay “‘Twas the Night.”
“I’m so honored that I’ve made it to the finals of this competition,” Dunstan said.
Perhaps one of most notable aspects of the Redstone Festival is that after the Boston event, it goes on tour to showcase films for audiences in New York and Los Angeles.
“The hope with the New York and LA Redstones is to provide our filmmakers with exposure as well as the necessary help to launch their films into the film festival circuit,” said Thompson.
Whether students are looking for fame and fortune or just want to show their work to friends on the big screen, the Redstones are the perfect opportunity, Thompson said.
“For students interesting in submitting their work in the future, I would start by saying please don’t hesitate to do so,” he said. “It all starts with you and your effort to show us what you’re capable of doing. If you bring you’re A-game to everything you do, there’s a good chance you could be showing your film to a crowd of over 500 people.”
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