By AMANDA GIGLIO
On April 23, Fordham University took part in Campus MovieFest (CMF) for the fifth year in a row. Campus MovieFest is the world’s largest student film festival, in which over 500,000 students at colleges and universities globally participate. It originally began in 2001 when four students from Emory University provided their fellow peers with everything needed to film their own short film.
Campus Movie Fest gives students a chance to showcase their filmmaking talents by offering them free equipment, including camcorders and Apple macbooks, to film a short five minute movie in one week. The winners from each school receive a chance to go to California for the CMF Hollywood Film Summit.
This year, Fordham had 111 teams join, with 16 of the top films shown to the student body. The films ranged from comedy to drama, with some suspense and personal anecdotes in between. Everyone received a raffle ticket upon entering, and the emcees gave away door prizes regularly throughout the event. Social media played a large part in the event, with a prize going to the person who tweeted and hashtagged about the event the most. As each of the movies played, the students involved cheered for their friends or their favorite movies.
Once all the top movies played, awards were given to the best movies in each genre and the best in editing, story and directing. “No Data Found” won for Campus Best Picture and Campus Finalist. Nick D’Agostino, FCRH ’16, wrote, directed, filmed and edited, and starred in the film with his friend Luke McCanna, FCRH ’16. The film is about the everyday routine of a man who loses his memory. It was one of the funniest movies shown, receiving laughs the entire five minutes.
“Switch Pocket,” a comedy about two New York City girls who pickpocket to find the best items, was written, directed, filmed and edited by Stephanie Twyford Baldwin, FCLC, who also starred in the film. This film is a GTA Nominee for Best Director and a Campus Finalist and is currently number one on the online movie view leaderboard.
The second most viewed online movie is a drama called “Mine.” This film is about a spoken word artist reflecting on a past romantic relationship. The film, directed by Shannon Morrall, FCRH ’15, stars Vanessa Agovida, FCRH ’16, who gives an intensely emotional performance that stunned the audience. The film is a GTA Nominee for Best Actress and a Campus Finalist. Other highly rated films include, “Wait-Listed,” “In the Cards” and “DeBlasio: Man or Myth.”
While only 16 films were shown, there are many more that can be viewed on the Campus MovieFest website. Each movie has a cast and crew of Fordham students who were not afraid to show off their theatrical side.
Also on the website, you can watch films from previous years at Fordham or other colleges that participated.
