2010 SUNYWide Film Festival

The second annual SUNY-wide Film Festival was held this past weekend, hosted by the Media Arts Club. Of the 82 initial entries, 19 were selected to move on by a volunteer prescreening committee of Fredonia faculty and community members. The winners, chosen by guest juror Tricia Regan (far left), were unveiled Saturday at the festival's closing ceremonies. The grand prize, and an award of Adobe CS5 Production Suite Premium software, went to SUNY Fredonia student Lisa Brotz for her experimental film “Vinegar and Brown Paper.”

Synopsis: “Vinegar and Brown Paper explores the fairy tale of Jack and Jill in the context of a broken home in the late 1950s and early 1960s. With original 8mm footage taken by the filmmaker's great grandfather, seemingly pristine moments are altered and reordered to mimic the tale of Jack and Jill, while juxtaposing the recounting of a family member's abusive childhood.”

The winner of the Audience Choice Award and a $100 B&H gift card, voted on immediately following Friday's Student Showcase, was SUNY Oswego student Nicholas Shelton's narrative, “Bonfire of the Humanities.”

Synopsis: “A new professor's first week at a new university quickly turns out to be quite different than what he expected.”

A $200 B&H gift card was awarded for the best film in each of the four categories.
Documentary: Ron Douglas, University at Buffalo, for “Unseen Tears: The Native American Residential/Boarding School Experience in WNY.”

Synopsis: “Unseen Tears: The Native American Residential/Boarding School Experience in WNY documents the impact of the Thomas Indian School and the Mohawk Institute on Western New York's Native American Communities.”

Animation: Brandon Prinzi, Heather Personett and Erich von Hasseln, SUNY Fredonia, for “Illumination.”

Synopsis: “A lonely, isolated man finds friendship and comfort in an unusual guest.”

Narrative: Alexander Atkins, SUNY Purchase, for “Unearthed.”

Synopsis: “A man moves to the country to write and happens upon a discovery in his back yard. The initial distraction caused by this mystery becomes an obsession marked by visions and nightmares that ultimately become his inspiration.”

Experimental: Caleb Foss, SUNY Purchase, for “An Introduction to Physics.”

Synopsis: “A character in an educational film battles an evil, power-hungry narrator.”