CaMS Fest: This is What We Do
By RJ Edrolin
The Cinema and Media Studies Film Festival, aka CaMS Fest, is a relatively new event in the CaMS division, but one that feels like it’s been a tradition for many years. CaMS fest honors the filmmaking of its students, presenting their student’s films on the big screen in the home to many CaMS classes, Norris theater. I’m grateful to be Spotlight’s first review on CaMS Fest and am excited to see all the future shorts at CaMS Fest.
Below are my 20 honest reviews for each short. Spoilers ahead.
Radios: The first short film to screen and the one that raised the standards at CaMS Fest. The animation reminded me of the old PBS Kids days and was nostalgic to me. The short’s enchanting story of a man torn between following his dreams or staying with his family was perfectly conveyed through the animation. Radios was the only animation short of the night and instantly swept the floor with its unique animation and beautiful score. Director Chad Budley did say that the clip shown that night was only a snippet of the rest of the Radios project, and I could see how. As a stand-alone, Radios felt like there was something missing, but this was not at the fault of Budley who could only show a small portion of his film that night. Radios took home the Selection Committee Award and nearly took home the Audience Favorite, which were both very well deserved. Although Director Budley is interested in science fiction and documentary storytelling, I sincerely hope he makes a return to animation.
One Black Boy: One word: chilling. One Black Boy was indeed the most powerful short film of the night. The first half of the short showed the audience the daily lives of Black women and men and then abruptly transported me into their minds. The second half of the short completely took my breath away and was the highlight of the piece. Tthe first half of the short was jarring and visually stunning while the second half’s compelling speech laced with stunning, rapid shots left me at a loss of words at the end of the short. Director Miles Gordon’s frustration with society was indomitably and clearly represented in the acting, visuals, and speech. One Black Boy took home the Audience Favorite award and was personally one of my favorite films of the night. Director Gordon is a current CAMS and African American Studies double major and I wholeheartedly hope to see more content on cultural studies from him.
Down: Director Thomas Sullivan explained that this music video was made with only a few of his friends during the pandemic, and I was quite surprised that it was. Down is a music video that follows artist Goodtime and Gilbert the Puppet on a trippy journey. While the green-screen animation was obviously not the highest tech, it really aided the Y2K trancey vibe of the video. Director Sullivan had a vision for this music video and it paid off. The entire video was cohesive and no shot felt like it didn’t belong.
Woo-ol: One of the main highlights of director Jiwon Lee’s Woo-ol was definitely the somber feeling of the short. Director Lee explained that the inspiration for Woo-ol came at a dark period in her life. The feelings she experienced during the time definitely rubbed off on the cinematography of Woo-ol. This was one of the shorts that sent me on an emotional rollercoaster. I went from laughing at the sassy cat to crying at the gloomy beach scene, back to laughing at the cat, and then ended in desiderium. As CAMS students, we all understand the rigor of our studies and the difficulty balancing it along with the vulnerability we feel to just giving everything up. Director Lee perfectly summed up those emotions in Woo-ol.
Mirror Mirror: The production design and cinematography was Mirror Mirror’s highlights and perfectly complemented the psychological horror aura the short was going for. However, while Mirror Mirror’s story was intriguing, it fell short of expectations on the big screen. The short had a very strong foundation storywise, but weakly lacked in conveying that story to a short film.
Immortality: Director Isabella Scaffidi explained that this short was made for CTPR-290, a class CAMS students have to take in their second year, and took a few days to film. Given the time constraint Scaffidi had, I was impressed with the high quality of Immortality. The red hues really brought out the end-of-the-world urgency the short was going for and it really paid off.
Want: I liked the premise for Want and initially found it intriguing. But ultimately after viewing, Want had a lot of potential that wasn’t met. Director Frederic Perera’s strengths were in its visuals – the stunning shots of the main character on his skateboard in LA was a definite highlight, and added to the sense of confusion and loneliness the main character felt. But the script was a bit weak and some scenes and lines were comical when I’m not sure if they were intended to be. I do think that Want has a lot of potential and would be excited to see Perera return to this story.
A Birth of A Girl: A Birth of A Girl was very strong visually but lacked storywise. While the short definitely did not lack in cinematography, I felt like the visuals compensated for the lack of narrative. Perhaps this short film intended to be more experimental, but even so, there wasn’t enough substance to pull it off.
Trigger Warning: Assault
Lost Touch: The storyline felt a bit too heavy to be compressed in a short amount of time. I also felt like the climax of the short was a bit abrupt and out of place. Given how much we knew about the characters, it felt muddled how the main character assaulted her girlfriend seemingly out of nowhere. I would’ve liked to have seen more build-up to her character. However, Lost Touch was still definitely one of the best shorts shown at CaMS Fest and I have to applaud how it touched on a pretty unknown yet pressing topic. The cinematography was beautiful, the costume design was well put, and the acting was the strongest of the night. I’d also like to highlight Lost Touch’s production design, specifically at the party. It genuinely made me feel like I had just stepped into a party somewhere on W 28th street.
Souvenez Vous: As a fan of A Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Souvenez Vous was a visual favorite of mine. Director Jiacheng “Tiffany” Wang, was the only non-Cinema and Studies major who showcased their work that night. Wang’s work doesn’t stand too well as a short film given its very short runtime, but for the small amount of time it was shown, it was visually dazzling. I’d like to see Wang as a Director of Photography for another project as she clearly excels in creating aesthetic visuals.
Mi Estrella: Mi Estrella took home the Faculty Favorite award and very well deserved it. The director’s love for her grandma oozed out in this short and felt like I had just stepped into a very personal memory of hers. While the acting and editing were weak and choppy at times, the storyline of Mi Estrella definitely overpowered all its flaws. The color grading of the short was one of its main highlights, projecting a warm feeling to the audience. It was one of the most beautiful and heartwarming shorts of the night and definitely had me tearing up towards the end of it.
I Don’t Want it to End: I Don’t Want it to End beautifully managed to tell a universal story of heartbreak yet made it feel so personal to the characters and story. Despite its short runtime, I Don’t Want it to End had a strong structure and depth in its storytelling which can be attributed to its strong performances. Director Ahmad McCutcheon expressed his interest in character-driven stories and I hope he continues down this path.
Overexposed: Out of all the media shown at CAMS Fest, Overexposed felt extremely professionally made. Seriously, it’s almost mind boggling to think that a current student had created such a polished and visually stunning piece. From the beautiful shot of Jelani Aryeh sitting on the back of a pickup truck with their hair blowing in the wind, to the group of people wearing white robes surrounding the singer that felt like it came straight out of Midsommar (2019), Overexposed had a clear creative vision and knew exactly how to execute it. The chemistry between the lyrics and the cinematography perfectly blended together. I truly applaud the work gone into Overexposed and hope to see more music video content from the director.
Candlesticks: Although I truly enjoyed the cinepoem’s message, I also want to highlight its visuals. I admired Director Bexton’s choice in choosing a calm visual, making it both intriguing to watch and listen to. There was an array of experimental/untraditional short films shown that night and Candlesticks was a highlight among them.
Promise Me: Promise Me was one of the best well-structured short films of the night. Besides its resplendent shots and adept camera work, the lack of dialogue was one of its strongest tools and really strengthened the theme of grief in the short. There’s not much to say about Promise Me other than it was short, concise, and sweet. In my opinion, it was among the most underrated shorts shown that night and I commend Director Daniel Van’s artistry.
Doppelganger: If you told me before walking into CAMS fest that I would be scared of cats by the end of it, I would think you’re lying. I enjoyed how Director Lillian Lin managed to create a haunting aura over a relatively cute idea (a missing pet detective is one of the most unique ideas I’ve heard of lately). Everything about Lin’s film was solid; all the shots were effective in conveying a creepy aura and the performances were terrific.
April Fools: April Fools had me in tears throughout the entire short. The director’s love and appreciation for her mother seeped out from the beautiful shots of the Bay area and archival footage. This story certainly touched the heartstrings of the entire audience. I audibly remember the quiet sniffles throughout the crowd after the screen turned black. While there were only three awards given out at CAMS Fest, I wish there had been one more to give just so I could give it to this one.
A World Turned Red: I respect Director Cecilly’s storytelling in choosing a politically relevant topic in today’s society. The director managed to perfectly translate the feelings many young adults felt or feel towards today’s political climate onto the screen.
Break: I appreciated director Tanishq Reddy’s nod to the La Jetée’s experimental usage of still photos and found it appropriate given the subject matter. Heartbreak was of the main themes presented in Break and one that was masterfully portrayed using pictures. The stillness ambience with these photos added a depressing atmosphere to short. Besides its visuals, the sound design for Break was increasingly powerful, adding an element of horror as the sound of dishes, and clothes erupted through the speakers, their repetition creating a harrowing effect. I could tell that Break was a very personal story from Reddy, using his own mother to tell the story. Break instilled a strong melancholy feel and I hope Reddy will release more shorts.
Intrusion: Intrusion was the last short film shown at CAMS Fest and was the perfect film to close out the night. The amazing coloring and lighting of the short really aided its otherworldly feel. While the short didn’t have any dialogue, it honestly didn’t need it and appended the mysterious aura of the film. Director Carlos Acosta’s Intrusion was a very concrete and well-rounded short.
20 short films were shown in Norris Theater, and only 3 of them walked away with an award. Although only three were awarded, all of the short films showed that warm Friday night was memorable and beautifully made. I had a wonderful time and experience watching all 20 shorts. I laughed, cried (a lot), and was touched by the amazing artwork of these artists.