Ivey film festival — the sequel
By Daniela DiStefano
ddistef@uwo.ca
It’s a fall day at the University of Western Ontario.
A young woman with long brown hair walks down University Drive. She stops at the light in front of Talbot College and looks up to see a young man in a pea coat at the other side of the cross walk. As they look at one another across the street, visions of the past come pouring back into their minds. Visions of a time when they were together, happy and in love.
This is the opening scene of I Remember, a two-minute film directed by Kara MacLean.
“The ex-couple sees each other and they think about the fond memories they had together, but they ignore each other as they walk on by,” says MacLean, a media theory and production student at Western. “It’s the choice they make.”
Last year, MacLean’s film won the overall film excellence award at the first Ivey Film Festival. Organized by Western’s Richard Ivey School of Business, the festival is back for the second year to showcase the film talent of students from all fields of study, and offer an opportunity for them to learn about the Canadian film industry.
“It’s great the festival is on again,” says MacLean, who heard about the event through a friend in Ivey. “There was such an amazing representation of the film talent at this school, and I met so many people.”
Some of those people led MacLean, 21, to her big film break.
“I made connections with some film executives who came to judge the festival,” says the third-year student. “One resulted in a job as a campus representative for Alliance Films, and another led to a summer internship with E1 Entertainment Canada.”
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| Photo courtesy of Kara MacLean |
| Kara MacLean got a summer internship and a part-time job through the Ivey Film Festival. |
Thanks to the festival, the Toronto native is one step closer to reaching her dream career in Canadian film.
“Just the networking opportunities alone are great for students who want to work in the industry,” says MacLean, who has been making short films since she was in high school.
This year MacLean is submitting two films. One was shot on a 16 millimeter camera and is entitled, Things I Like, Dislike, and Nothing in Between, and another, a stop motion animation called Keep in Touch, was shot with the digital single lens reflex camera she won for first prize last year.
Sponsored by Western’s University Students’ Council and Cineplex Entertainment, the festival will be judged by executives from the Canadian film industry. Last year representatives from Nelvana Ltd., Alliance Films, Walt Disney Studios Canada, and CBC were at the screening to give their professional opinion and share their knowledge with young film enthusiasts.
“The visual techniques and the creativity in some of the films really stuck in my mind,” said Darin Bristow, senior technical producer at Nelvana Ltd., and one of last year’s judges. “The professionalism was impressive.”
Bristow hopes more students will try their hand at short film, regardless of their skill level.
“Not every student will have had film training, but you can translate your everyday experiences into something that will visually engage audiences,” he says.
Festival co-chair Jason Melhuish says organizers were also pleased with the range of submissions they received last year. More than 40 films were submitted and nearly two dozen were shown at the screening. The organizers are looking forward to hosting another successful festival.
“IFF was created as a way to deviate from the Ivey stereotype and give students an outlet to express themselves in a non-business setting,” said the second-year HBA student. “It also brings students together from all faculties who share a common interest - a love for film.”
The top prizes are first, second and third in overall film excellence. Other awards include best action, best drama, best documentary, best comedy and the people’s choice award chosen by the audience. All films are under eight minutes long.
The festival is free and will take place Mar. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 1R40 of the Ivey Building.
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| Photo courtesy of Ivey Film Festival |
| The creators of last year’s people's choice and best comedy winner, Roommates, accept their prize - a Nintendo Wii. |
