The idea of a film festival usually conjures up images of high-profile directors, actors doing red-carpet walks, and scores of hungry critics waiting for their chance to watch the anticipated movie program.
But starting this week, UCLA is hosting a humbler film festival, skipping renowned figureheads to focus the spotlight on regular students.
Campus MovieFest, a festival lasting until Nov. 3, was born seven years ago, when a group of friends at Emory University in Atlanta gave students movie equipment and had them make five-minute films.
The idea became popular, and so they took it on the road, bringing the event to different campuses across the nation.
Now it’s UCLA’s turn.
“I think this is going to be really great for the creative people on the campus who don’t really have an outlet,” Campus Events Commissioner Colin Iberti said.
“We’re really excited to provide such a service.”
Students can sign up through the Campus MovieFest Web site in teams of up to five people and then pick up all the requisite equipment, including a digital camera, a computer and the proper editing software, on campus. Participating in the festival is completely free.
The films will be due for judging by Oct. 29 and then, on Nov. 3, the best movies from those submitted will be shown in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
“It’s something you can do with your friends,” said Megan Solomon, public relations coordinator for Campus MovieFest. “You don’t have to have any experience whatsoever in any sort of moviemaking areas.”
All undergraduates are eligible to participate, regardless of major.
“This is a film festival for people who want to learn how to make films; it’s a film festival for people who are borderline interested but don’t have the equipment; and it’s a film festival for people who are very interested and just want to make another film,” Iberti said.
Such an egalitarian festival would have been impossible a few decades ago, before the advent of digital technology and more specifically before the recent evolutions in filmmaking.
“With the digital cinema that has come into being in the last 10 years or so, it’s just been an explosion of incredibly powerful tools,” said William McDonald, professor and head of cinematography at UCLA.
“When I was in college making Super-8 films, when such digital technology did not even exist, I could only dream of being able to do the kinds of things that kids in elementary school can do now if they want to,” McDonald said.
The new technology allows just about everybody to make movies in a manner that is almost effortlessly simple.
“The equipment is really straightforward. You got the digital camcorder. You have programs like iMovie which are pretty intuitive and easy to use,” Solomon said.
“With a digital video camera, you can point it and press the red button and you will get something,” McDonald said.
“If you take a film camera, put film in it, and then press the start button, you may get nothing,” he said.
However, as easy as it can be to make a digital film, McDonald reminds hopeful moviemakers to not lose sight of what movies are all about.
“For the last few years there’s been some confusion between proficiency with tools and the actual art of storytelling. Ultimately, it is the story and the characters that are put up on the screen that need to engage an audience,” McDonald said.
And, sure enough, Campus MovieFest contestants will be fully rewarded for successfully engaging their audience of judges and fellow students.
“Sixteen films will be shown at our Ackerman Grand Ballroom screening, and then the best of those will go on to the regional finals at the Egyptian Theatre and if you win that you can go the national finals as well,” Iberti said.
However, it seems there might be a bigger reward beyond the prizes. The festival’s democratic spirit gives viewers the chance to watch and experience something different and for amateur filmmakers to perform some healthy personal expression.
“My hope,” McDonald said, “is that festivals like this one allow people who have stories that really come from the heart ““ stories you haven’t heard of before, stories you haven’t seen before ““ to get those types of stories out there and seen.”