FilmFest 2018, themed Awaken, took place last Friday with 13 total student-made films. The following awards were presented after the showing at the Paramount Theatre:
Best Picture – “Jars”
People’s Choice – “The Cheeseburger Squad”
Best Director – Forrest Lorenzen and John Puckett, “Eastbound”
Best Producer – Brittney Johnson, “Year-Round”
Best Writer – Rankin Dean, Brittany Taylor, “Jars”
Best Editor – Esther Tsuneki, “The Cheeseburger Squad”
Best Cinematography – John Greer, “Year-Round”
Best Production Designer – Michael Scales, “American Sinners”
Best Sound Designer – Cole Spears, “Count”
Best Actor – Rankin Dean, “Jars”
Best Actress – Jemimah Wavamunno, “American Sinners”
Producer of “Year-Round,” Brittney Johnson has produced six films in three years, and won best producer every year since 2016.
“FilmFest has meant so much to me the last three years,” said Johnson, a graduate student from Universal City. “I’m humbled with every win of ‘best producer’ since 2016. To know that industry professionals believe in me, and every filmmaker, to such a degree is incredible.”
Rankin Dean. (Photo by Matthew Baker)
Rankin Dean, who won three awards, decided to transfer to ACU after attending FilmFest last year.
“I was still considering where to transfer to and was invited to FilmFest and loved it,” said Dean, an acting theatre major from Colorado City. “The idea of a school having their very own film festival blew my mind, since I’ve lived in a small town my whole life. So that experience definitely sealed the deal for to go to ACU.”
For his first time competing in FilmFest, Dean said he wrote “Jars” to represent his core talents as a filmmaker while also creating something everyone would enjoy.
“This was my first time ever competing for awards for a short film and I tried not to think about it. I wasn’t trying to make a film that was going to win everything,” Dean said. “So to win three awards was absolutely thrilling for the whole production team, but it was also great reassurance that we don’t have to be Hollywood in order to make something enjoyable and touching.”
