The Best of Show award went to Grand Valley student Matthew Dressel for his 22-minute film, “Producing Fiction,” created as his senior project. The Vertigo Music Award was given to Maggie Annerino, Sue Staffacher and Suzanne Zack for their documentary film, “Bessie Smith: Sold Out.” Annerino and Zack are both graduates of Grand Valley.
Deanna Morse, a film and video faculty from Grand Valley, won a Festival Award for her 5-minute experimental film, “Postcards From My Backyard.” Additional Festival Awards were given to the following Grand Valley students:
- Andy Fortenbacher - “Rose Colored Glasses”
- Scott Sheppard - “Surviving Grandpop”
- Matthew Evenocheck - “Catching the Current: A Look into the Benefits of Wind Energy in West Michigan”
- Patrick Kwiatkowsi - “Mr. President and the Boys”
- Thomas Hegewald - “Grand Homes of Heritage Hill: The Voight House”
- Nathan Russell - “Hecatuyelo: The Way It Is”
John Douglas, former film critic for the Grand Rapids Press, served as a judge with Chuck Peterson, who organized the event with Jim Falk. About 30 films were entered in the competition and screened throughout the three-day festival in downtown Grand Rapids.
A strong hands-on emphasis characterizes the Film and Video program offered through Grand Valley’s School of Communications, which Michigan Film Office Director Janet Lockwood recently credited as having “the best true film program in Michigan.”
For example, the school’s Summer Film Project, established in 1995, offers junior and senior students an opportunity to work side-by-side with professionals to produce a 30-minute film in 12 weeks. Now in its 13th year, the project is currently producing their first feature-length motion picture, “To Live and Die in Dixie,” under the direction of John Harper Philbin.
For more information see www.festivalofthearts.org/activities.php or contact Deanna Morse, GVSU professor of film and video at [email protected].
