Courtesy of Greyson Acquaviva / Berkeley Beacon
This past month, DKA production chairs, Kristie Mitchell and Sam Stenson, have been busy at work putting together Emerson’s first ever One Minute Film Festival. We are so happy to say Kristie and Sam’s dedication really paid off and One Minute Film Fest was a success.
Usually Emerson puts on a 48 hour film fest each semester where groups of students put together short films in only two days. However, the 48 hour was postponed this semester indefinitely and Kristie and Sam were eager to still give students a fun chance to create.
For the one minute film fest, students were given a quote as a prompt for their films and a weekend to put it all together. Each team had to pay a small entry fee and all profits went towards SeriousFun Children’s Network. Kristie and Sam held a screening at the end for all to watch the entries. Guest judges included members from other Emerson organizations like EIV and Flawless Brown. While the decision was hard, ultimately a first place winner was chosen. The first ever winner of the One Minute Film Fest went to team “Minute to Win It” for their clever take on the quote, “And then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks.”
We are so proud of Kristie and Sam for their dedication to DKA and the Emerson community. They started something special from the ground up that we can’t wait to see the fest continue to grow...but it was not an easy task. I asked Kristie and Sam to speak a little bit about their time creating and executing this event. Here’s what they said:
How did the One Minute Film Fest come about? Kristie: Me and Sam really wanted to host an event aside from the narrative and we came across the idea for a 10 second film fest and just pushed it to 1 minute. Sam: We both missed the 48 hour film fest and knew other people felt the same way, so we wanted to set up an event that catered to the same interests.
How did the One Minute Film Fest differ from the typical 48 hour? Kristie: It’s a little more challenging I think, trying to make a film that’s actually fun to watch that’s only a minute long is hard. It’s also for a good cause so you can’t go wrong with that. Sam: The difference between the 1 min and the 48 is that while there was a time limit on the 48, the 1 minute film fest forces the competitors to look at writing and storytelling differently. They have to think about how to convey a complete thought in a short amount of time, it's creatively challenging and rewarding.
Did you have a favorite entry? Kristie: the winner of the film was my favorite for sure, Minute to Win It was the team name, and it will be posted online soon! Sam: I really liked the entry "sticks and stones" by the team Bike Parade Productions. It's completely visual and up for interpretation, but it clearly stemmed from the prompt and was full of emotion
What’s something you learned from this experience? Kristie: I learned so much from it. It’s always easier to buy baked goods than to make them, events like this take a lot of prep work, and our student body is so talented. Sam: There's a strong drive to create throughout the Emerson film program, and that tapping into that to create events can strengthen the community and give them an outlet. We hope the fest has a strong future in DKA, that the next production chairs can build on and improve the idea semester to semester and draw more people to it.
We can’t wait to see the future of the One Minute Film Fest at Emerson. Thank you to everyone who participated and dedicated their time and creativity. And an even bigger thank you to Kristie and Sam for executing your vision so beautifully. We are so lucky to have you as part of our family!