“This is a very strong year for Big Lens,” said Steven Bognar, WSU film professor and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. “Our (Motion Pictures) program is very rigorous and demanding. It is an undergrad program with graduate school expectations. We put (the students) through the ringer, but they come out real filmmakers able to work anywhere.”
The department is particularly pleased with the recent success of alums Hannah Beachler and Sherman Payne, both featured at Big Lens nearly a decade ago. Beachler’s contributions as a production designer can be seen in the riveting drama “Fruitvale Station,” which could receive numerous Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Payne, who attended graduate school at Columbia University, just sold his “Furlough” screenplay to David Linde, producer of independent hits “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Y Tu Mama Tambien.”
This year’s Big Lens lineup of five short films and one documentary explore such varying themes as abuse, angst, experimentation, isolation, redemption and reflection. For the first time, four films are directed by women: Maggie Rose Price’s “Ember” deals with the emotional trauma that comes with a history of violence. Brittany A. Shyne’s “Painted Lady” is a coming-of-age drama starring Sumayah Chappelle, comedian Dave Chappelle’s niece. Ash Brandon’s “Punches and Pedicures” is a documentary about Vietnamese immigrant Victor Pham’s quest to inspire troubled youth co-helmed by Dennis Hohne. Megan Hague’s “Punk Girl,” co-helmed by Kyle Wilkinson, explores the theme of rebellion.
“I think it’s very important to make stories about women, especially stories that portray women you don’t usually see on screen,” said Hague. “The story of ‘Punk Girl’ could be a story for either gender, but we don’t actually see this kind of personal story told from a woman’s perspective. The punk scene itself is very male-dominated, just like the film industry. But the first thing we can do to empower people to make certain films or to get involved in the film industry is to have representation of their experiences. It’s easy to make the same kind of films over and over, but a really interesting, really diverse story is what makes a film great.”
“Seeing stories of women give other women, particularly those who want to write, direct or produce films, a sense of hope and possibility that is very necessary,” Shyne said. “To have different avenues for storytelling is great, but all of our professors at WSU try to help us create something that is new and honest.”
The festival also features John Swansiger’s “Anomaly,” an account of a man testing a chemical which gives people the illusion of physically reliving a memory, and Bryan McClurg’s “Before We Go,” a story of college graduates reminiscing about their childhood.
“We have an amazing arts scene in Dayton,” Hague said. “It’s important for people to become more interested in what this city has to offer. I really feel the audience will be impressed with the quality of these student films.”
Contact this contributing writer at rflorence2@gmail.com
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