The Eli Jaffe Film Competition
The first ever Eli Jaffe Film Competition culminated Sunday May 15th, 2011 at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck, NY with a screening of the five projects selected as finalists. Filmmakers and their friends and families packed the theater to see their projects on the
big screen.
The finalists were:
1. HAITI: THE POWER OF SOLIDARITY AND PRAXIS Matthew Wilk and Joseph Berkes (MARIST)
2. ONLY EMBODIED Robert Anderson, Natalie Hanson, Antonio Sorci and Brandon Reuter (DCC)
3. FIFTEEN IS ONE – Matthew O’Neill (MARIST)
4. ANIMUS - Laura Scharschu, Francesco Paolo Cordaro, Devin Pickering, Michael Denise, Brian Keschinger, John England and the COM 211 Team (DCC)
5. NOBODY ELSE BUT ME Deanna DiBenedetto, Alexander DePinto and John Mingione (NEW PALTZ)
NOBODY ELSE BUT ME won the Eli Jaffe Award! A special jury award was given to the DCC Visual Effects production team that created “Animus.” Following the screening, there was a reception for the filmmakers featuring Lucky Chocolates at the Morton Library in Rhinecliff.
Film and video students at the five regional colleges were invited to submit projects that addressed public issues. Both narrative and documentary projects were reviewed by the team of judges: local filmmaker, Lisa Krueger, Screenwriter and Marist faculty member, Josh Robbins and Upstate Films’ Assistant Director Becca Prahl.
“Only Embodied,” is a short zombie movie that addresses the contemporary plague of addiction. “It was a great learning experience,” said co-director Natalie Hanson. “When we got to our location we were all like a bunch of deer in headlights. But once we turned the camera on we all got this weird confidence in our abilities and it no longer felt like a class project. We made mistakes, we learned from them, and that’s what it’s all about. I can’t speak for anyone else, but for myself, I think once I watched the final cut, all I could think was how excited I was for future projects. I spent a long time trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and what I really enjoyed, and it’s great to just have that realization like… this is it! I found it! This is what I’ve been searching for!”
The Eli Jaffe Film Competition 2011 was the first event sponsored by the Gillespie Forum to present student film and video projects that address public issues. Gillespie board members considered the event a terrific success and plan to continue this competition in upcoming years.
