Monday, June 19, 2006
For 27 years at De Anza College, the Film/Television department has been honoring their students with an annual film and video festival. Since the first time in 1976, students have been submitting their projects to be shown on campus.
At first open to all local students with films, as the department has grown, student output has increased and time constraints have necessitated closing the festival to all but De Anza students enrolled in Film/TV classes.
This year, approximately 40 films were submitted to the judges — five faculty members. 16 projects survived to be viewed at the festival. The filmmaker experience levels range from taking-their- first-class rookies to seasoned veterans who are attempting to start a career.
Films are not disqualified on the basis of content, so some films include adult content. Notable examples include an informative documentary on how to use various objects for killing zombies, and a film where the protagonist receives help on his Lotto scratcher from Jesus Christ himself. In a serious vein, “The Reason” is the story of two cops on an ordinary shift who are called to make the ultimate decision about life and death.
One of the great aspects of the festival is the current nature of the projects. The first project shown, Another Quarter, was finished just days before the festival. It has the distinction of being the only musical shown.
“We have incredible output year after year,” said coordinator of the film and television department Zaki Lisha. “We hope this gives them the confidence to go on to other festivals.”
Know your student filmmakers
La Voz finds out about two of the talents in this year’s student film festival
Michael Chance: His studio, Burning Ideas wrote, directed, and helped to produce “The Reason”. Chance hopes to earn a reputation as a filmmaker by taking his entries to other competitions. He plans to take a year off to work on a mystery/drama, then go to University of Southern California in the fall of 2007.
Matthew Rodrigues: With his studio, Sonar Media, Rodrigues created, wrote, and directed the musical “Another Quarter”. Taking classes at De Anza made available the cameras and equipment needed for producing a film. Rodrigues values his connection to De Anza, and cast Zaki Lisha of the film department in his entry. Future plans include transferring to Cal State Northridge, and then hopefully to Hollywood.
