The Film Festival featured student works such as “Good Night, Baltimore,” “Breaking A Habit,” “Ants,” “The Perfect Client,” “The Process” and “Launch.” The filmmakers were students from the RSO UIndy Film Club, and they created their short films over the course of the semester. Photo by Quiaira Johnson
The UIndy Film Club showcased films on a variety of topics at its Film Festival on April 19. Both beginners and seasoned veterans in the UIndy Film Club participated in the film festival.
Of the six films that were shown, a music video entitled “Good Night, Baltimore,” produced by senior communication major Dylan Listner, kicked off the evening. Following Listner’s work was a short film directed and produced by junior communication major Kasey Nethery, entitled “Breaking A Habit,” which tells the story of her father’s smoking habit from Nethery’s perspective. Featured next at the festival was a film entitled “Ants,” produced and directed by junior visual communication design major Andy Carr and sophomore biology major Taylor Kleyn. The film focuses on the level of one’s pessimism as one ages and encourages viewers to stay hopeful, as opposed to falling victim to pessimism. Following “Ants” was a film about a man whose wife is under the impression that he goes to work every day, when in fact he has an entirely different agenda. Senior communication major Adam Mahan Williams produced and directed this movie entitled “The Perfect Client.”
The fifth featured film was a piece produced and directed by junior communication major Cassie Reverman, entitled “The Process,” which documents the story of junior communication major Kyle McGinnis and his journey to and from body building, as well as some life lessons he learned along the way. Lastly, the festival featured a film entitled “Launch,” which tells the story of graduate business in strategic leadership and design student Andrew Walker and his quest for prosperity as well as his adventures in establishing himself as a successful entrepreneur. The film was produced and directed by senior communication major Russell Collins. After the film showcase, some of the directors and cast members participated in a panel to answer questions from the audience. The members of the panel discussed their roles and thoughts about the films.
“I hope what people get from ‘The Process’ is that life is going to throw you some curve balls and send you places you didn’t think you’d end up in, but at the end of the day, you have to trust what the universe is telling you and be patient,” Reverman said.
Walker, the subject of “Launch,” said he had some new perspectives that he discovered after seeing the film for the first time.
“For myself, seeing the documentary done by Russ [Collins] has given me a different perspective,” Walker said. “First off, he did a spectacular job, seeing how passionate he was about not just the film but the culture…. That gave me life. That gave me fire to take my game to the next level, towards the brand and life. I’m just excited for the future, but more focused on enhancing my day-to-day operations. I’m just so grateful for Russ and the people that support [me].”
Collins discussed not only his perspective on current experiences, but also where his passion for filmmaking began.
“I’ve always loved stories, and I’ve always been a storyteller, since I was very young,” Collins said. “Stories, along with their messages and the impact of those messages, have always captured my attention. From the beginning of my career, I noticed something that would allow me to translate stories into more than just words and allow me to truly bring the stories and their messages to life. It can be difficult to explain, but it’s just something that I love to do, and something that I’m blessed to say has taken me farther than I could have ever imagined.”
The UIndy Film Club will host another film festival showcase next year.
