USU Invites Movie Enthusiasts to Student Short Film Festival

LOGAN — The first-of-its-kind Utah State University Student Short Film Festival will be from April 24-25 at the historic Utah Theatre in downtown Logan, spotlighting student creativity across disciplines and welcoming the broader Cache Valley community.

The interdisciplinary festival, developed by faculty and students from across the College of Arts and Sciences, is open to all USU students and the public. Selected short films will be screened in a professional cinematic setting, with awards presented for Best in Category and Best in Show. The opening event will be a screening of “Napoleon Dynamite” at 7 p.m. April 24, followed by a full day of student film screenings from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 25. While Friday night’s “Napoleon Dynamite” screening is family-friendly, some student films included in Saturday’s program may not be suitable for all audiences. Attendees are encouraged to use their discretion when planning to attend the daytime screenings.

The festival marks a significant milestone for USU, which does not have a film major but does offer a film studies minor and cinema-focused courses across departments, including Art & Design, English, History, and World Languages. Organizers state that this inaugural event represents a starting point for what they hope will become a lasting campus tradition.

Henry Hallock, a junior majoring in American studies and president of the USU Filmmaking Club, said: “It is super exciting that USU is now putting on an event where students can showcase their work. Film is such an amazing art form that can express experiences in a such a unique way.”

Hallock called it “a great opportunity to come together as a student and Cache Valley community to learn more about … what it means to be human.”

Organizers note that while the festival is starting small, student interest is growing, with participation and enthusiasm for this year’s event emerging from disciplines across the university. That momentum, they say, underscores hopes that the USU Student Short Film Festival will continue to expand in scope and impact in future years.

David Wall, one of the festival organizers and professor of film and visual studies in the Department of Art + Design, said the event has the potential to build community while highlighting a wide range of student talents.

“The idea of a student film festival is overwhelmingly positive,” Wall said, “not only because it provides the opportunity for USU to showcase the amazing range of talented and creative students that we have here, but also … create a shared experience that will bring students, faculty and staff together, thus strengthening a sense of community across campus.”

“On top of all this,” Wall added, “we hope that the festival will be a place for people who love movies to come together as part of the broader USU film community, which is strong and growing all the time, but also where newcomers will be invited along.”

Earlier this year, students were invited to submit short films in a range of categories. Submissions ranged from narrative features, documentary, experimental and music videos. According to Wall, preparing these submissions provides students with a range of career-ready skills.

“The process demands multiple skill sets from project management to teamwork to storytelling and, obviously, technical production and problem-solving. As well as being crucial to the experience of filmmaking, these are all obviously highly transferable skills that prepare students for careers not only in media, but in marketing, tech, education and beyond,” he said.

The faculty and students involved in the film festival — both in terms of submitting films and helping with the event — come from a wide range of departments and disciplines.

This interdepartmental approach was intentional on the part of the organizers, who wanted to open the festival up to a range of creative approaches, and they were likewise intentional in their decision to hold it at the Utah Theatre, where students could see their work on the big screen and where the broader community would feel welcome.

“Our intention is to make this an annual event and so hope that this year’s festival will be the first of many to come,” Wall said.

For more information, visit artsci.usu.edu/art-design/events/film-festival.