Students Share the Spotlight at the Cranford Film Festival

A handful of Seton Hall students recently had the amazing chance to be featured in the fourth annual Cranford Film Festival, presenting their films outside of the classroom. The two-hour block, titled "2024 Seton Hall University Select Shorts Program", featured twelve films from more than fourteen individuals, and included short movies Girl of My Dreams, Abscission, and The Monkey Business across a diverse range of genres such as drama, comedy, documentary, thriller and even horror. The program concluded with a film discussion and a question-and-answer session with the young moviemakers. The Cranford Film Festival provided first-time and established filmmakers their chance on the big screen and even presented some with awards for their efforts.

To find out more about the event, I reached out to the student directors involved and asked them about their experiences.

Brianna Beck, who showed Gum responded proudly, explaining how "physically viewing something you put your creativity into, hav[ing] a beautiful and communal outreach… prompted massive excitement as a future filmmaker."

Farnsworth Hendrickson, who shared Welcome to RISE! and Kidnapped 1 & 2 revealed his feelings on the achievement. He recalled the educational opportunities it provided and how it was "a huge, fantastic milestone for me… I was able to learn from film directors and discuss my projects… [which] allow[ed] me to develop as a filmmaker and improve myself in the future."

Kayla Hodge, who presented I Am Doing Great, described the butterflies in her stomach, writing, "I am not going to lie; it was a very scary experience for me" but she soon found out that despite this, "everyone was very welcoming and was just so nice when giving praise to each filmmaker." Overall, student filmmakers involved in the Film Festival, for many their first time being called so, had an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Students who are pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Sound Media can engage in a concentration in Film Production (Digital Media) courses to "learn how to express themselves and their ideas by writing, producing, directing, and editing original narrative films projects… students [also] learn techniques of visual media production and all aspects of project management." Seton Hall also allows students to strengthen their skills in their state-of-the-art television studio, radio station 89.5 FM WSOU, and editing and sound production labs, which thoroughly prepare them for industry positions.

Categories: Arts and Culture