Attracting both moviemakers and movie lovers alike, Campus MovieFest held the red carpet finale in Ackerman Grand Ballroom on Thursday. Out of the 130 teams that signed up, the top 16 films were featured at the finale, and three were selected as winners of Best Drama, Best Comedy and Best Picture.
“We were just blown away (by the) creativity and the excitement of the students so tonight is the night to see the best of the best and make the students feel like stars,” said David Roemer, co-founder of CMF.
In its third year at UCLA, the finale screenings kicked off with two presenters, one from CMF and one from Campus Events Commission, who hosted the event and handed out door prizes as the night progressed.
The 16 finalist films were shown in no particular order in groups of four at a time. The showing included all genres, from comedies to suspense to dramas, that filled the audience with laughs, sighs and, in some cases, nail-biting anticipation.
Of those who attended the finale was Lincoln Castellanos, a fourth-year theater student, who, with the help of friend and UCLA alumnus Esteban Proaño, created and entered a film into the competition called “Promise.”
“I am just here to have a good time. “¦ It’s about coming out (and) supporting fellow classmates. Some are aspiring filmmakers, and some are just doing it for fun and coming out here to just have a good time,” Castellanos said.
Others at the event included third-year film student Barrak Sitty, who with a group of film students and friends made a film called “24th and Pico.”
“It was a very spur of the moment decision. “¦ (We thought) it would be good to get in a quick experience of how to make a movie in six days,” Sitty said.
It was more of a fun experience for Sitty and his friends.
“We knew we were just doing this for fun so we were not going to let it get on our nerves,” Sitty said.
However, not all film contestants had previous experience or a film or theater background, as was the case for fourth-year Chicana and Chicano studies student Mario Zamora, who decided to participate in CMF with two friends also for fun.
“I think it is just fun to be a part of a lot of things on campus so especially for my last year, because I don’t think I heard of this before,” Zamora said. His story is a self-proclaimed “simple love story” that comes to life through a coloring book.
All three films were mentioned in the honorable mentions at the end of the program.
Winner of Best Picture was “Butterfly King,” a film by UCLA’s improv comedy group, The Wait List.
Best Comedy went to “Pantomime,” and Best Drama went to “Life (In V Minutes).”
The event was a way for students to express themselves and celebrate their creative genius with friends and fellow students.
“This is what it’s all about for us. We love giving the students a chance to tell their stories up on the big screen and will have fun watching everyone see their movies up there tonight,” Roemer said.
See Monday’s issue of the Daily Bruin to learn more about the winners of Campus MovieFest.