Inaugural Film Festival at Saint Mary’s
Kasey James ’19 is the creative genius behind Bay Area Student Shorts (BASS), the inaugural film festival at SMC that features the works of college students throughout the Bay Area. The film festival is happening on Friday, March 1, 6:30 p.m., at the Soda Activity Center on the SMC campus.
James, an art practice major, first dreamed up the film festival when she was contemplating ideas for her senior Capstone project. “It didn’t take long for me to decide that having a film festival at Saint Mary’s is what I really wanted to do,” said James. “My major has been toward film, and it’s something that I’m very passionate about.” James submitted her proposal for the film festival to Peter Freund, associate professor and chair of the Department of Art and Art History; and Costanza Dopfel, associate professor of Modern Languages and Medieval and Renaissance Art History, and was given an enthusiastic green light with one caveat—that she would be doing this on her own. She embraced the opportunity and has not looked back.
Envisioning a film festival and then bringing it to life is no easy task. Fortunately, James had already amassed some hands-on experience. During her junior year, she worked with the Mill Valley International Film Festival as a programming researcher, which she says was “an amazing experience.” As a sophomore, she worked with a small art studio in Oakland and helped coordinate its first animation festival.
“At first, I planned for an SMC student-only film festival; then, I thought it would be far greater to open it up to all Bay Area college students,” said James. This was a stroke of genius because the film submissions received far surpassed her original goal. “I was hoping to receive 25 submissions, but I received 35, which is incredible,” she added. The response led James to believe that there is a strong desire among student filmmakers for opportunities to show their films. “Many universities and colleges have their own film festivals, but in my research, I haven’t found a student film festival for all college students in the Bay Area. I’m proud to have founded BASS at Saint Mary’s, making us the first to have a film festival that is open to all college students,” said James.
Even though James single-handedly coordinated the film festival, she required the engagement of her advisor and three of her professors. “I had to assemble a jury of film reviewers, and I was fortunate to have three professors who each have a background in film and/or production,” said James. Her jury for the submissions and the final film review include: Laura Miller, assistant professor of Art Practice; Hossein Khosrowjah, adjunct professor of Art and Art History; and David Benin, associate adjunct professor of Communication. Andrew Mount is James’ faculty advisor but does not serve as a member of the film jury.
Of the 35 short films submitted, 13 three- to eight-minute films were selected to be shown at the film festival. Each film was ranked from 0 to 5, and films with a ranking of three or higher were accepted. “There will be a cash award for the best film in each genre,” said James. The money to be awarded is part of a $750 Student Research and Development Grant that James applied for and received. “The grant money is basically paying for everything, and I’m happy that a portion can be used for awards.”
James has been further inspired by SMC alum Mahershala Ali ’96 and former student Ryan Coogler. “I’ve attended events where they’ve spoken on campus, and I feel really connected because I believe I’m the only student studying film at SMC,” said James. “I’m kind of a one-woman show, but I’m thankful to friends and my roommates who have volunteered to help at Friday’s film festival.” James is hopeful that the BASS Film Festival will become an annual event. “Since I’ll be graduating in May, I’d love to pass everything on to another student. I’ve created a detailed binder of information that will be useful so someone else can continue the event,” she added.
Hmm, the Second Annual BASS Film Festival at Saint Mary’s College has a nice ring to it.