Deadline in sight for film festival

There is still time to submit short films for the fourth-annual Iris Film Festival. Selected films will be showcased 7 p.m. May 1 at in the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts Building 015.

Films will be accepted from anyone ­— students, faculty and beyond — and will be accepted until 3 p.m. April 30 in the department of communication and culture mail room on 800 E. Third St.

There is a also $5 fee to enter and films must be under seven minutes.
Graduate student Amanda Keeler said she created the festival four years ago while teaching a video production class.

“It started as a tiny festival with 20 projects,” Keeler said. “It’s not just for IU students — anyone anywhere in the world can submit a film. It gets a little bigger every year.”

Keeler said last year she received around 40 submissions and screened only 20 films.
Judges include communications and culture professors Gregory Waller, Stephanie DeBoer, and doctoral students Justin Rawlins and Joshua Vasquez. Awards will be given in four categories: Best Cinematography, Editing, Screenwriting and the Brian Friedman Award for Best Communication and Culture Student Project.

Keeler also said there will be an award given for the film that receives the most votes by audience members. The winner in each category will be awarded a $75 cash prize.

“The judges try to come up with the film they can agree on the most,” Keeler said. “They’re looking for creativity and clearly that someone’s put in a lot of hard work”.