A spoon, a handshake and a shadow don't have much in common unless you're one of the aspiring filmmakers who participated in Brandeis University's 48-hour film contest coinciding with this weekend's festival.
For the fifth year in a row, students have pulled together a weekend dedicated to the big screen, dubbed the SunDeis Film Festival, which brings amateurs, fans and professionals into the same arena.
The university only offers a film studies minor, but students on campus say movie buffs blossom with the assistance of enthusiastic professors and events such as SunDeis.
"The school does have a tremendous number of students interested in film," said Adam Barish, a junior and an awards/film selection co-chairman on the festival's planning committee. "While Brandeis doesn't yet fund the major, the faculty in the film department are the most enthusiastic of any I know on campus. The people that pursue this are incredibly enthusiastic. It's hard to notice it's not a major."
For the spontaneous director, this year's 48-hour film contest offered participants a change to showcase their creativity. The competition took place last weekend, and the films will be screened at the festival.
From a list of required elements, including setting, editing techniques and objects, filmmakers worked feverishly to pull together a short movie.
"In tight time constraints and monetary constraints and general constraints, it pushes creativity," said Barish.
For those not so skilled behind the camera, this year the festival offers something to everyone involved.
Tony Goldwyn, director of "The Last Kiss" and appearing in "Law and Order" and "Ghost," is a Brandeis alumnus and will be bestowed with the school's first SunDeis Alumni Achievement Award.
As the first of two special screenings, festival-goers will have the change to ask Goldwyn questions following a showing of "The Last Kiss."
On Sunday, "Outside Providence" director Michael Corrente will be on hand after a screening of his 1999 film for questions and answers.
Despite the big names on campus this weekend, which also include panel discussions lead by alumni, professors and friends, the student organizers said the festival is centered on student creativity.
After reviewing this year's submissions for films, which have brought in entries from across New England, Alison Luntz, a junior and the awards/film selection co-chairwoman, said the variety and creativity runs the gamut.
As she judged and nominated certain films for various awards, Luntz also said she saw certain trends coming to the forefront in this year's entries.
"I guess I would say that a lot of people are attempting to make more serious movies. There's not as many comedies as we've seen," said Luntz.
Also, this year's entries feature films driven by their images, rather than plot or dialogue.
"People have been playing around a lot with the visual aspect of filmmaking," said Luntz. Many students, she said, have taken their photography backgrounds and translated it into film with simple, clean shots.
Also impressed with the collection of entries from both undergraduates and graduate students was Matt Brown, a senior and communications chairman of the festival committee.
"Some of the undergraduate films, when I was watching them, I thought they were graduate. I was really impressed," said Brown.
In all, the committee received almost 40 submissions from students in and outside the Brandeis community.
"We have a lot of different types of films that are nominated. There's a lot of breadth to it," said Brown.
Submitting two films this year is senior David Pepose.
"Lost in a Good Book" and "The Loneliest Zombie" are both up for various awards and were both made during moments of opportunity, said Pepose.
While making the films during Yom Kippur and Halloween, Pepose said knowing SunDeis was around the corner drove him toward better productions.
"It pushes a lot of students to make films. When I was making my films, it gave me that extra push to make them excel," said Pepose.
As an American studies major, Pepose has experienced filmmaking throughout his time at Brandeis with the encouragement of faculty members.
As for whether he'll pursue film after he graduates, "It's definitely something I'm considering. I'm crossing my fingers," he said.
For more information about this weekend's festival, which is open to the public, visit www.brandeis.edu/sundeis.
Kerri Roche can be reached at kroche@cnc.com or 781-398-8009.
