(GROVE CITY, Pa) – Grove City College Communication Arts program is organizing its first student film festival and needs your films. The Lux Mea Film Festival will be premiering selected films at the Guthrie Theatre on April 30 and May 1.
The Lux Mea Film Festival is being conceptualized, developed and produced by a new Communication Arts class, Special Events and Promotions. The class is taught by Professor Gregory Bandy, who had a similar class produce an annual student film festival for 13 years at his previous university in Kentucky.
The Kentucky festival, under Bandy’s direction and the efforts of hundreds of talented students, became what a local newspaper called, one of “the top cultural events in the bluegrass area.” Thousands attended the festival through the years and its success gained the attention and participation of over 40 film professionals and Hollywood judges such as “The Shape of Water” actor Doug Jones, the sound designer for “Braveheart,” Peter Lehman, the director for “Mulan,” Barry Cook and Michael Flaherty, president of Walden Media, the studio that produced the “Chronicles of Narnia.” Now, Bandy wants to bring this same success to Grove City.
“We wanted to host a film festival at Grove City because I believe there’s an enormous amount of untapped storytelling talent here,” Bandy says. “Like sports and music, visual narrative media talent has to be developed, and a film festival is one of the best ways to encourage and reward such talent.”
The film festival is debuting as the Lux Mea Film Festival, which means “my light.”
“Our whole mission of storytelling,” Bandy says, “should be rooted in the values of telling the truth about it means to be a human being made in the image of God.”
In its first year, Lux Mea is only accepting student films made by Grove City students who have produced their films while being enrolled in the school during the past four years. The deadline to enter the films is 11 a.m. April 14. Films submitted to Lux Mea will be judged for acceptance based on their technical quality and engaging storytelling strength. All students are encouraged to submit their films. The Lux Mea Film Festival is open to many creative expressions but is dedicated to maintaining a worldview in alignment with the college’s culture and values.
Bandy hopes that this class can help create the foundation for years of future Lux Mea Film Festivals and establish Grove City College as a creative storytelling center. “Prof B,” as many of his students refer to him, says the festival will be accepting submissions Apr. 7 to Apr. 14. For festival updates and to learn more about the details and specifications for submitting a film, visit the submissions page of the festival’s website at www.luxmeafilmfestival.com.
“Something very magical takes place when the lights go down in a theater with hundreds of people in the room. You’ve poured yourself into creatively crafting imagery, music and light into a story that hopefully makes people think, laugh, and maybe helps us see ourselves in a new, honest, even a funny way. It’s important that we tell stories that matter,” Bandy said, “So tell them.”
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GABRIELLE CAPALDO 