By: Emily Lingenfelter ~Staff Writer~

February’s Crosstown Shootout is not the only rivalry occurring in the Cincinnati area. Three teams of Xavier undergraduate students have enrolled in the annual College Movie Festival (CMF), a rigorous competition between academic filmmakers around the tri-state area.

This year marks the 10th anniversary, and the CMF is celebrating with a record attendance. Twenty-seven undergraduate and alumni groups are currently in the process of producing original, short films within a framework of two weeks. The quick deadline challenges the participants to consolidate their planning, production and editing skills.

“It’s a friendly competition, and the schools, both students and faculty, are very supportive of each other,” Blis DeVault, a CMF advisor and director of the Xavier University Television Association said.

The festival began on Feb. 15, when the participants randomly selected their genres through spinning a “carnival wheel” of emotions at a topic-revealing event. Each team will now have 10 days to generate a film portraying the chosen sentiment or evoking such feelings from the audience.

They must also incorporate several required elements such as a specified character, prop and dialogue.

The idea for the CMF was ignited when students participated in a 48-hour film festival at Cincinnati State a number of years ago. Chris Strobel, of Northern Kentucky University, was the director at the time and realized that something similar could be applied at a college-friendly scale, without the accelerated time frame and high-involvement from professionals.
He partnered with David Killen of Cincinnati State and Doug Yeager of Brown Mackie College, and the three men collected their thoughts to create an environment where students could gain confidence and networking practice through their cinematography.

“The experience has been nerve-wracking, just like any other creative endeavor,” junior Nick Bergeman, Xavier student director of the CMF film, Inequities, said. “I’m nervous, but excited to see what other people think of our work.”

Film screening and awards will take place on the morning of April 25, and time and location are to be announced on the CMF’s official website. All are welcomed to attend this free matinee of new artists.