Page 14 - the NOISE May 2014

As we head into May, Northern Arizona University ends its two film series (the Classic and the International) for the summer
but NAU also ends the year with their annual Student Film Festival May 4th at the Or- pheum at 7PM. Paul Helford, as an advisor, oversees the UTV62 events, and coordinates the student film festivals each year, allowing students to run the festival themselves.
Alex Leefer is the Film Festival Director for the May 4th event and has a hands-on approach to make things happen. The Noise caught up with Mr. Leefer to find out what it takes to run a student film festival at the Orpheum. Mr. Leefer: “My task is to secure the venues, coordinate the festival market- ing and to introduce the films at the event. I work with a specialized team to assure ev- erything runs smoothly. My selection team and I screen the films based upon a profes- sional rubric. We look for strong storytelling both visually and content wise. Our goal is to find the best NAU films that can lead to the festival circuit. Some films are Capstone projects that show great potential. We find an order to the films that will give the audi- ence a fun and emotional experience.” Check out OrpheumFlagstaff.com for more details.
One of the films highlighting the festival is A Grim Tale, directed by Jeremy Scott, written by Chris Binning and Austin Ken- nedy. Mr. Scott shared the logline: “This is a tale of an average guy with a not so average job, who gets in hot water with the woman upstairs, when he fails to claim his brother’s soul. Our goal was to make a film as a pro- duction studio would. We divided the class into different areas to work on the film, from producer to director, DP, line producer, art director, etcetera. The idea for the semester
was to consolidate efforts on one project, rather than many students working on many smaller projects to increase production value and have a better learning experience. It was a test semester but over all a huge success.” Thanks and good luck on the screening!
The Sedona Film School has its 14th (AND FINAL) Annual Short Film Festival May 23- 25th at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre in Sedona. This will be a time to celebrate the ongoing achievements of film students in Northern Arizona and recognize a legacy that was the Zaki Gordon Film School. The past and the present collide to bring us future filmmakers. Screenings and an Award Ceremony will be the centerpiece of three days of celebrating encore “Audience Choice” films from alumni, and this final graduating class.
There’s a Friday night Gala at Reds, themed: “Dress to the Nines” and a Wrap Party on Sun-
day with awards. Passes can be bought for the entire festival or for individual days, and individual shows. Wrenched, directed by ML Lincoln, will play Saturday night at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on the 24th featuring the camera work of Ed George and Brian Rein- hardt, an instructor at SFS.
Alex Finden, a graduate of SFS, will show his wonderful documentary, Sweet, Sexy Ocean, which will be reprised as a former au- dience winner. His new film, Kuwan, will also play on May 4th at the Orpheum in Flagstaff (look above.)
Kuwan is a poetic documentary short that shows the diverse setting of Northern Ari- zona through the use of visuals and music. A Baraka for the new millennium! Don’t miss the rise of this fine young talent at both SFS in Sedona and the Orpheum in Flagstaff.
14 • MAY 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us