'Gospel According to Roy' wins Best Domestic Film award

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Best Domestic Film award at the 4th annual Foursite Film Festival in Odgen, Utah, went to Grand Valley State University’s Summer Film Project 2005, "The Gospel According to Roy." This relatively new film festival specializes in short films which are shown at Peery's Egyptian Theater, a restored 1923 movie palace listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

The screenplay, which was chosen from more than 40 competition entries from 11 states and four countries, was written by Andy Graham, a film and video production major who graduated from Grand Valley in April 2005. "Roy" was directed by John Harper Philbin, associate professor of film and video production at Grand Valley. The film has also been screened in California, Colorado, Hawaii and Michigan.

Established in 1995, the GVSU Summer Film Project offers junior and senior students in the School of Communications an opportunity to work side-by-side with professionals to produce a 30-minute film in 12 weeks. Now in its 13th year, the Summer Film Project 2007 will produce its first-ever feature-length motion picture, "To Live and Die in Dixie," a true crime story, part courtroom drama, about a murder on a college campus.

The screenplay was written by distinguished novelist John Dufresne, a creative writing professor at Florida International University. Casting begins in April in Grand Rapids, Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles. Principal filming begins June 15 in West Michigan.

For more information call John Harper Philbin at (616) 331- 3668 or visit www.gvsu.edu/filmvideo .