On April 29, students will be able to experience the best in filmmaking that Fairfield has to offer at Cinefest. Cinefest is an annual film festival that showcases a variety of nominated short films and documentaries created by Fairfield film, television and media arts students. The festival acts as a big celebration for the FTM program, which recognizes the achievements of students that have managed to successfully craft their own narratives in cinematic format.

The selected films for this year’s Cinefest include the following: “Certain Habits,” directed by Sara Farley ‘16; “Trust,” directed by Heather Mooney ’16; “The Professor,” directed by Stan Grunder ’16; “Truth,” directed by Matthew Ryan Caminiti ‘16; “Memory Black, directed by Conor Long ’16; “The Persephone Logs,” directed by Joann Cowley ’16; “The Farm,” directed by Phillip Iervolino ’16; “Överlöad,” directed by Mark Anthony Aiello ‘16; “Fostering Promise,” directed by Carina Nieto ‘16; “Never After,” directed by Ally Giannini ‘16 and “Toxic Fantasy,” directed by Joe Flanagan ‘16.

Each year, a jury committee selects different student films to be featured in Cinefest, as well as which films will win prizes for the different categories that they are entered for. For this year’s Cinefest, the jury committee has remained a secret and will be officially revealed on the day of the festival.

Some of the categories that the short films are nominated for include best cinematography, directing and editing. Introduced back in 2005, Cinefest has managed to steadily grow in popularity with Fairfield students. The festival was originally held in the Community Theater in the town of Fairfield, but it was soon changed to the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts after an increase in student interest forced the department to accommodate the larger attendance numbers.

Iervolino discussed why Cinefest is important to him.

“Cinefest is my favorite event of the year … all of the best student films of the year are showcased and the Fairfield community gets to see all of the hard work we put in,” said Iervolino.

According to Iervolino, “The Farm” is about an aging minor league baseball player who is dealing with the frustration that comes with facing the end of his career. Iervolino also elaborated on the work that went into the making of his film.

“There were a few minor speed bumps along the way … we only had our main stadium location for brief windows of time, so if we fell behind, there was no finishing later,” said Iervolino.

Nieto also gave her feelings regarding Cinefest.

“I think it’s a great way for students to showcase their work and receive recognition for their hard work as demonstrated through the awards,” said Nieto.

According to Nieto, “Fostering Promise” is a documentary that shows the effects of living in the foster care system within the Bronx, N.Y. Nieto stated that her inspiration for the documentary came from a desire to illustrate the privileges of individuals that grow up in a welcoming home environment through foster care.

“For all filmmakers, the process always begins with an idea that grows and is cultivated into reality based on the help received and how much time we have available to us,” said Nieto.

Cinefest is set to begin at 7 p.m. on April 29 in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Performing Arts with free admission for students.

 

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--Junior| Opinion Editor -- Communications

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