This year’s annual film festival will be held on Thursday October 31, 2019, at 6:00 P.M. The festival will be located in the Tarleton Planetarium. The event will feature Students who have submitted their work that was created during the previous academic year. The Festival will also have a costume party where guests in costume can compete win an award for best costume.

The festival was started in 2005 by Dr. Robert Anderson, an Associate Professor of Communication Studies. This year the festival will be led by Professor Megan Ehrhart who is the Associate Professor of Art and Digital Media Studies. Professor Knut Hybinette, who is an Associate Professor of Digital Media, is working as head of business relations as well as tech support for the event. Tarleton students also have the opportunity to participate and get credit for a Film and Media Festival & Event Production Creative Activity ALE according to Ehrhart.

“I want the event to bring community exposure to the best Tarleton Art and Digital Media Studies media work. I also would like to want this festival to help recruit more students for Tarleton,” Ehrhart said.

The Film Festival is free to enter and will feature many films within various genres such as, video art, short films, animations, as well as game digital environment art. The festival will have awards for  students whose work wins.

The main award is the Director’s Choice Award. Other awards include, Best in Show, Best Narrative Film Short, Best Animation, Best Digital Environment, and Best Experimental Film. Voting is done by the audience through a mobile online ballet system. Award winners get certificates and promotion on social media and Film-Freeway. Award winning may also include work being highlighted in future screening and promotional events.

Currently, the festival only features students work during the showing at the festival, however Ehrhart said that there is a possibility that in the future student’s work will be featured on local T.V. as well a variety of public showcases and screenings to highlight specific Tarleton student media work. Ehrhart also mentioned that there is a discussion about adding more categories to the festival so that more students can enter and have their work featured.