UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — It’s a special moment when a filmmaker gets to see his or her film come to life on the big screen for the first time, and dozens of Penn State students will experience that thrill April 13 during the annual Blue and White Film Festival.
Eleven films — all written, directed, shot and edited by Penn State students — will screen during festival, which begins at 7 p.m. at the State Theatre in downtown State College. The festival will run about two hours. Doors open at 6 p.m.
The films represent the work of dozens of students who have been working months on their projects.
“I think it’ll be a lot of fun although I’ll certainly be nervous,” said Owen Nipper, a junior film production major from Cleveland. “At the end of the day, it’ll be a success if I can make someone laugh.”
Nipper’s film, “The Button,” runs a little over nine minutes and follows what happens when a group of friends discovers a button that cautions anyone who finds it not to push it because it will lead to the end of the world.
The annual festival, organized by the Student Film Organization (SFO), showcases some of the best student films produced this year at Penn State, largely produced by students in the Donald P. Belisario College of Communications.
Student admission for the festival is free and non-student tickets cost $5.
More than two dozen films and scripts were submitted for consideration for the festival. Those entries were reviewed and ranked by Penn State alumni, mostly former SFO members.
Nipper, SFO president, said the overall quality of films has impacted the length of the one-night festival.
“There were so many strong submissions that we wanted to include as many as possible," Nipper said. "So, it’ll be a little longer night — a really good night.”
The festival is funded by the Student Initiated Fee and supported by the Bellisario College.