“Are you Ed?”
“Yes, I am, can help you?”
“I’m the mother of one of this year’s student filmmakers, and I wanted to tell you how thankful I am that the college brought CMF back another year. It’s positively changed my son’s life and I just wanted you to know.”
Last night, in the craziness of April in Higher Education, I was reminded of why I work in Student Affairs.
The Student Government Association at Bridgewater State College (BSC), in conjunction with our office, held the 3rd Annual Campus MovieFest (CMF) Finale. It turned out to be everything I imagined and more. CMF started on Wednesday, April 7th, when 47 student teams picked up their equipment (an HD Video Camera, Apple MacBook loaded with Final Cut Pro, and an AT&T smartphone) and had ONE WEEK to make a five-minute film. On Tuesday, April 13th, 35 teams submitted their films that were judged by a secret panel of students, staff, and faculty.
The top 16 films were shown last night in front of an excited crowd of over 550 students, family members, faculty, and staff . You could feel the pride, school spirit, and excitement on campus. NONE of the teams knew if their film made the top 16, so they were eager and ready to watch all the films, not only for themselves, but to support their fellow student filmmakers.
If CMF isn’t on your campus, it should be, and here’s why:
1. CMF is an Intense “Engaged Student Learning Opportunity”
In a broad college event market of concerts, comedians, inflatables, etc., Campus MovieFest stands out because it fills a specific niche: providing an intensely “Engaged Student Learning Opportunity” for all involved. When asked about their experiences in CMF, many of my students cite learning “teamwork”, “project management”, “delegation”, and “creativity”. Most importantly, they learned “how” to make a film/video, which is a very specialized skill not many college graduates have, unless you are majoring or have a key interest in it.
2. CMF attracts students, faculty, and staff that may not already be actively “involved”
Many of the college community members who are involved in CMF, may not be the same students, faculty, or staff who support other Campus Activities, and that’s a good thing. It reaches a different segment of the population that wouldn’t otherwise be actively engaged with the college. This allows us to build bridges to other opportunities with them if they are interested!
3. CMF Creates Community Building and Networking Opportunities
The filmmaker community at BSC is growing (and we don’t have a formal Film program!). With the success of “Scrabble: The Motion Picture”, winning Best Film at the 2009 CMF Northern Regional Finale and Best Comedy at the 2009 CMF International Grand Finale, it connected them to industry leaders interested in recruiting college filmmakers for creative projects and future films. CMF also gives students a once in a lifetime opportunity to network with other amazing filmmakers from across the world, as the best films are given high exposure on Virgin Atlantic domestic flights and at the Cannes Film Festival.
4. Faculty/Staff Collaboration
CMF is an amazing way to connect faculty to the out-of-classroom experience. Whether or not you have a formal Film program, there are many ways to involve faculty! Some ideas include inviting faculty to judge the films, presenting awards at or helping plan your school’s finale, or encouraging them to be in films! One could correlate many majors to the art of film making and the topics these films are about. Our Communication and Theater departments are huge supporters of CMF, and it adds so much value to the overall experience!
5. Amazing Staff at CMF
CMF was started by four college students at Emory University in Atlanta. Their staff understand the college market and work closely with each school to create a fantastic experience and a great event. As I’ve gotten to know them over the past three years, they constantly work at perfect their product and each year the student films seem to be getting better and better. They are gracious and a pleasure to work with.
Campus MovieFest could easily be named Campus MagicFest with all the wonder they create through video, images, contests, and their ability to help students realize their film’s reality. I recommend them highly if you work on a college campus and hope that this reflection encourages you to consider them!
During the event, I turned around and looked at the sea of people, laughing, crying and enjoying the 16 stories that were old on the big screen and it reminded me why I work in Higher Education. Every day, I get the chance to shape how those our students’ stories unfold, and to be part of that process is an honor.
After further talking with the mother whom I quoted above, she said that CMF got her son out of his room and engaged in our campus community, when nothing else did. The experience helped him find his passion. That.Is.Awesome.
I’m curious: What was your most memorable college event/program that you attended and what did you learn from it?
DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Campus MovieFest. I wrote this to share with all of you how awesome they are and what they how they can positively affect college campuses!
The end, roll credits.
