Weber State University’s video production studio, Studio 76, will present their first official Wildcat Film Festival, a sustainability-themed entourage of student films that will be screened in the Wildcat Theater on April 12.
The film festival will screen 10 films created by WSU students and high school students in the following categories: non-fiction, comedy, drama, music video, commercial, animation and a “best of” sustainability film category.
High school students from Utah counties, including Weber, Cache, Davis, and Morgan County, were allowed to submit films that were filmed, wrapped, edited, and completed between the months of Jan. 2018 and March 2019.
“We encourage students and those who are interested in attending Weber State to attend the event and see what the college has to offers in regard to filmmaking,” said Kalie Pead, the co-director of the Wildcat Film Festival. “Weber State has opportunities for student filmmakers to use a massive amount of video production equipment that they may not be able to find anywhere else.”
Awards will be presented to the student filmmakers in an Oscar-like ceremony afterward that will award the films in the style of “best of” categories.
Studio 76 anticipates the film festival will be an annual event, which will highlight the relationship the studio has with the Utah Film Commission, their involvement with the national and international 48-hour film project and how student filmmakers can pursue a career in the film industry at Weber State.
Studio 76 and their relationship with the Utah Film Commission has granted opportunities for Weber students to work at professional film sites, such as the Disney channel show “Andy Mac.”
Weber students can also compete in the 48-hour film project, where filmmakers compete to write, direct and produce a film in a 48-hour time period. In the past, Weber students have won awards and were able to travel to Orlando, Florida to showcase their films.
Brian Higgins, a director and producer of the 48-hour film project, will be in attendance as a judge at the Wildcat Film Festival. The festival is free to students and will begin at 6 p.m.
