JAMM students showcase semester-long projects
The Kino Short Film Festival has been an annual tradition on campus for many years, and for University of Idaho student Krista Creighton, showing a film in the festival has been a goal since her freshman year.
Creighton is one of seven directors submitting a film to the festival this year.
“I started coming freshman year and I’m like ‘Oh, I want to be in this festival one day,’ so I’ve continued working until this year,” Creighton said.
The Kino Short Film Festival will be held at 7 p.m. May 4 at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public. Donations to the Kenworthy will be accepted at the event.
The festival is put on as part of the Advanced Digital Media Production course taught by UI assistant professor Denise Bennett.
“We work on the short film the entire semester and then the Kino Film Festival is like our final or showing of all our work,” said senior Julie Bixler.
Bennett said she’s not sure when the festival began, but it’s been an annual event since she arrived in 2006. Kino has been held at the Kenworthy for the past three years.
“It predates me, and I’ve been here since 2006,” Bennett said.
Students are involved in every aspect of Kino — they organize and promote the festival, as well as produce most of the films.
This year’s festival will feature eight films, seven directed by students currently enrolled in the course and one produced by a group of students who have taken the course previously.
Creighton said although this is her first year submitting a film, it is her third year attending the festival.
“They’re a lot of fun. There’s so many creative ideas and stories that come to the screen,” Creighton said.
Creighton said the films vary greatly in genre.
“We have quite a spectrum, which I don’t think we’ve seen in previous Kino Film Festivals, from dark comedies to lighthearted romantic comedies to just plain dramatic tragedies,” Creighton said.
Brandon Miller, one of the student directors, said the students have put in a lot of effort to produce the films this semester.
“We’ve all worked really hard this semester, from writing scripts to doing three or four takes of our videos, cutting, fine cutting, budget planning,” Miller said. ” It takes a lot more effort than most would realize.”
Bixler said the festival serves as a good way for students interested in filmmaking to see the process of making a film and the work it requires.
“I guess I would encourage people to come to the film festival and encourage them especially if they want to pursue a career in filmmaking to come and see all the work you have to put in to a film, and also if that’s something you really want to do,” Bixler said. “I think it’s a good way for students who are interested to like see if they really are truly interested and know what it’s all about.”
Bennett said people should attend the festival to experience short film because it’s a different form of art than feature films.
“I think everybody should attend the Kino Short Film Festival, because short film is an art form that people can appreciate,” Bennett said. “I think the Internet has got us into appreciating short film more. I would encourage people, faculty, staff, students, people in the community to come and check it out.”
Corey Bowes can be reached at [email protected]