On Campus News

For the cinema-television students at Regent University, Saturday, Dec. 10, was an evening to celebrate. The annual OTIS Film Festival featured the hard work of a number of undergraduate and graduate student filmmakers and honored several students for their achievements.

Organized by the Council of Graduate Students, the OTIS audience screened 10 student films: Bartl Farms, Perpetuum, Once Upon a Park Bench, Beautiful, The Ratio, This is a story about a girl named Penny, Chains, Cold is the Garden, The Illusion of Acting and Tenebrae.

In addition to the film screenings, the festival also featured special guest Ron Maxwell, writer/director of the feature films Gods and Generals and Gettysburg. While on campus, Maxwell also gave a presentation to students, providing insider tips on screenwriting, producing and directing.

While the festival is organized by students, for students, the faculty are thrilled to see their students growing as filmmakers. "The works just keep getting better every year," said David Garcia, department chair of the Cinema-Television Department. "Only the best of the submissions get in."

Garcia also explained that OTIS gives students the chance to have their great work seen by others. "Projects like this are made for the purpose of being seen," he said of the films. "It's not about boosting their egos, it's an affirmation of what they did."

Each year, the festival also gives out awards. This year's awards included:

Best Documentary: Bartl Farms Best Drama: Cold is the Garden Best Experimental: Perpetuum Best Redemptive: This is a story about a girl named Penny Best Commedy: The Illusion of Acting

Many student films feature student actors, and OTIS also recognized those actors for the talent they display on screen. This year, undergraduate student Gabrielle Davison received the Best Actress Award for her performance in the film Alone; undergraduate student Jacob Wright received the Best Actor Award for his performance in Splashes of Color. Undergraduate student Jordan Imhoff received the award for Best Director.

Once Upon a Park Bench was named the Audience Favorite.

OTIS received 27 entries for this year's festival. A panel of three judges—composed of faculty members from the School of Communication & The Arts—selected the winners in each category.