Sloppy kisses, triumphant nerds and playful murderers were just some of the things featured at Tuesday night's Lycoming College Digital Media Video Annual at the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St.
The mini-festival featured experimental short films by local college students.
This year, for the first time in the three years of the event's existence, the annual accepted video submissions from students outside of Lycoming College and two videos from Bucknell students ended up making the bill.
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RASHELLE CAREY/Sun-Gazette
Christina Moliterno, left, accepts the Woodruff Grand Jury Prize from Lycoming College digital media professor Leah Bedrosian Peterson Tuesday night.
The creative videos were selected by a jury, so the filmmakers who made the cut have the honor of saying that they've shown their videos at a juried film festival.
Tuesday also was the first time the Woodruff Grand Jury Prize was awarded. Lycoming College student Christina Moliterno was the recipient of the prize, which was named after Tom Woodruff Jr.
Woodruff is a Loyalsock Township native, a Lycoming College alumus and has won an Academy Award for his effects work on the Meryl Streep film "Death Becomes Her."
Moliterno, 19, was born in Morristown, N.J., and is digital communications major. She had two films in the festival, "Hipster" - the award-winning entry - and "Dream Sleep."
"Hipster," in Moliterno's own words, is a film "about a person who perfectly fits into this new-aged stereotype."
"It is narrated in French because French is hip and obscure and tells the story of the typical life a hipster might lead," she said.
"Dream Sleep" is an experimental film about surveillance.
"In this film, we as viewers play the role of the surveyer and intrude on a girl's most vulnerable state of mind," she said. "As the recordings continue, she starts to realize that something is wrong and attempts to break free. I really wanted to capture the feeling of what it would feel like to have your dreams recorded and watched."
Among the several other films shown, was "Stage Dive" by Crossing the Frame Productions, a work about a girl named Linsey, "who must ask a Scottish man named Taggart for help when her band is entered in a contest without her consent," filmmaker Phoebe Wagner said.
"With less than three days to create a song, Linsey hopes Taggart will create a poster for the band since he's an artist," she added. "But she gets more than she bargains for when she finds Taggart howling at the moon."
Wagner is an 18-year-old Muncy native and is a creative writing and digital media communications major at Lycoming.
Lycoming College Digital Media professor Leah Bedrosian Peterson said, "I'm very excited by some of the films ... I'm always struck and impressed by the variety of work and subject matter that students choose to cover in their work."
Peterson organizes the annual video festival and said that she first approached Community Arts Center Director Rob Steele three years ago about holding the event at the CAC.
"He and the CAC have been gracious enough to allow us to continue to do so," Peterson said. "Holding the annual at such a beautiful historic site has been a real honor and thrill for the students."
Lycoming College student Jehiel D. Boner said the annual is a good opportunity for students to get feedback on their artistic efforts.
"I think it is a great chance for students from the area to showcase the work that they have worked hard on," he said. "For me, I enjoy the chance to watch other people's work."
Boner is a 20-year-old business and marketing major with a minor in digital communications. He is a native of Springville.
For several of the students, the annual is the first chance for them to see their videos on a big screen, Peterson said.
"It's exciting for the students to be able to compete for entrance and to represent their institution at a juried festival," Peterson said. "We encourage students from all of these institutions to submit again next year."
