Film Festival feelings - why it all seems right

(Left to right) Jared Norby, Jonathon Foster, and Andrew Watkins took home the top prize at the Biola Film Festival for their film, 'Save Jared'. The festival was held last Friday, April 25.

Ronalynn Lieggi

Last Friday night, I went to the Biola Film Festival. After two and a half hours of inspiration and laughter, I left the event feeling more proud of my school than ever.

The films at the festival were quality. There was comedy and drama, mixing hilarity and seriousness. The production value of many of the projects was very high. It was an inspirational night.

Biola Film is in a great place. The caliber of films shown at the event was truly exceptional and wide ranging. But I was most impressed by the community of the filmmakers. After the films were shown and awards given, there was a social gathering in the Sutherland atrium. I made the rounds, congratulating winners, embracing old friends and new. But there was a moment (right after I dropped my friend’s cheesecake and, embarrassed, kicked it under a table) that I had a chance to step back and observe the whole group interaction. It was electric – laughter and joyful faces around – it just felt completely right.

I sat down on a bench in the corner of the courtyard and let my thoughts wander.

Two years ago, when former MCOM Chair Craig Detweiler left for bigger things, I thought Biola Film was doomed. I was frustrated, and I was angry. I came to school at Biola solely for that man and his inspiration. He had such a way of lighting a creative fire in all who met him. He single-handedly convinced me to come to a school that, overall, I wasn’t that jazzed about.

But he left just as I was entering my second year, a time when I was scheduled to have two classes with him and really looking forward, longing even, to get to know him more.

But here I was, on a bench at the ‘08 Film Festival two years later, realizing how everything was okay. Thanks to the great work of Lisa Swain, the chair the past two years, and all the exceptional film professors, the program persevered – bringing in a wonderful and excited freshman class of filmmakers, while continuing to provide good opportunities for us current students. I know it was not easy. But they worked so hard and with such grace – I couldn’t be more appreciative.

It doesn’t seem like the film program would belong here at Biola; its methods and mindsets seem a bit obtuse – but it’s here, and it’s thriving, and I’m terribly proud to be a part of it. Detweilers’ inspiration and enthusiasm hasn’t left the halls of the Production Center (even with its repainted walls and re-design), but a new excitement is growing. With new CMA Chair Jack Hafer stepping into authority next semester and an anonymous $1 million grant to help finish Production Center renovations, the program is climbing fast. The amount of student applicants for the program has drastically increased in the past three years and is sure to continue to do so.

So my view from the bench at the Film Festival on Friday was only a taste of the exciting things to come. It’s a wonderful time to be apart of Biola Film, and we should all count ourselves lucky to be here and embrace a community that is unlike any other we have ever known.