KWU Students Help Organize First Film Festival

The KWU Communications department is putting on the first ever Smoky Hill Independent Film and Television Festival. The event, known as SHIFT, will take place on the campus of Kansas Wesleyan University on October 13th and 14th.

The event kicks off Friday afternoon at 1 pm with special guest, Leif Junker, as he talks about the art of creating Horror films. At 3 PM, cartoonist Matt Orsman will be discussing the Art of Terror. At 6 pm, a screening of Isaiah Marcotte’s “Sphere Cycle” will be played in Fitzpatrick Auditorium, followed by a screening of Jonker’s “Darkness” at 6:30. At 8pm on Friday, the three guests will be joining up with KWU’s own Dr. David Silverman to discuss Indie Filmmaking. The final event of the night is a midnight screening of the “Night of the Living Dead.”

Tickets for the Night of the Living Dead are only $1 for students and $2.50 for the Salina Community. Proceeds from the midnight showing will be going to help the Communications department afford more equipment for students.

Space for vendors is available, and Kansas artists and musicians will have their merchandise for sale from 1pm – 10pm on Friday, and then 9am-5pm on Saturday.

Moving on to Saturday, SHIFT will begin with the opening of the “60-Second Film Challenge.” at 9 am. For this challenge, participants are given a topic and asked to make a 60 second film in only 6 hours that will be judged by our panelist later in the evening.

First prize will receive $100 cash, as well as gift certificates from local Salina businesses. Second place will receive a cash prize of $50 and third a prize of $25.

The day will also consist of more panels conducted by Leif Jonker and Matt Orsman, as well as a screening from local filmmakers. For more information on the “60 Second Film Challenge” and Saturday’s schedule, head to the SHIFT 2017 event page.

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Story by Paul Green / Kansas Wesleyan University