Silverscreen Film Festival features aspiring filmmakers

The festival included 13 films from students across the state.

By Emily Willroth

Published April 20, 2010

TV and film production has always been senior Matt Shepley's dream. This year, he felt like his time was running out. Although he had been involved in the making of many films and projects, he had yet to call a film his own. The Silverscreen Film Festival gave him the opportunity to do just that.

Shepley's brainchild, "Blind Love," showed along with 12 other films Friday in Jesse Wrench Auditorium.

"I walked away with the experience of seeing my own idea through from beginning to end," Shepley said. "I feel like it was a taste of what is yet to come in my life."

"Blind Love" was not eligible to win any awards at the festival because its length exceeded the competition limit of seven minutes.

"That wasn't important to me," Shepley said. "It was a chance for me to get my feet wet."

For Whitney Gelnett, whose film "Oranges" won Best Overall at the festival, Silverscreen was another stop along the road in both the success of her film and her career.

Gelnett is a film production major at Webster University and has already landed two jobs at local production houses. "Oranges" was created for her junior film project and has since won best overall film at Webster's Film Festival and Silverscreen and placed in the top 30 at the St. Louis Filmmakers' Showcase.

"The first time I saw my film showed in front of 100 or so people at the Tivoli for the Filmmakers' Showcase, I was really nervous," Gelnett said. "Once you get out of your own school, you're just another fish in the sea, and you have to prove yourself in the industry."

Silverscreen featured first-time filmmakers like Shepley, those who already have a foot in the door like Gelnett and everyone in between.

In the words of guest speaker and judge Richard Roeper, "No one can tell anyone they can't be a filmmaker."

"Festivals like this are a great chance to see that anyone can do it and that this type of filmmaking is being done all over, not just in Los Angeles," senior Kyle Ayers said.

As a second-time Silverscreen entrant, the festival provided senior Daniel Shar with the opportunity to hone his skills and grow as a filmmaker.

"I feel like film is something you can only get better at by doing," Shar said. "I submitted a film two years ago, and I'm a lot more proud of the films I worked on this year."

Shar submitted "Makin' Hits, Takin' Hits" and played the role of Dillon, a young comedian who received a laugh track for his birthday, in the film "On Track." "On Track" received awards for Best Story, Best Director and Best Comedy.

"It's great to finally have a big audience see what we've been working on," Shar said.

Other awards went to "The End" for Best Cinematography, "Stephen's Log" for Best Acting, "Tomorrow" for Best Drama, "Just Breathe" for Best Documentary and "Collage" for Best Experimental.

Silverscreen creator Jay Johnson hopes to see the festival continue to grow and provide more aspiring filmmakers with the opportunity to show their work.

"The festival provides the venue to tell a story," Shepley said. "That's what we're all looking for, isn't it?"