Bronx Community College Celebrates 22nd Annual Film and Video Festival

Bronx Community College student filmmakers pose with faculty, sponsors and staff in front of the Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas. Photo courtesy of Thomas Donley.

From l to r: Vikki L. Pryor; Christopher H. Byfield, 2015 Marie Nesbitt Promise Prize Scholar Recipient; Stephanie Fox, 2014 Promise Prize Scholar; and Professor Wisotsky. Photo courtesy of Thomas Donley.

From l to r: Sol Negrin; David Moy, OFTB; MEDP Major Jody Torres; Clifford Jacobs; and Professor Wisotsky. Photo courtesy of Thomas Donley.

July 13, 2015 - Celebrating the work of Bronx Community College students in the Media & Digital Film Club as well as the Media & Digital Film Production Program, the 22nd Annual Film and Video Festival featured original short films that the students had been working on throughout the semester.

Supporters and industry executives gathered at Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas on June 4 to take part in the festival, including representatives from Eastman Kodak Company, the Tiffen Company, Avid Technology, HBO, SMPTE, the Independent Film Channel, International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600, IATSE, Panavision, and Barbizon Lighting Company. During the festival, special thanks were extended to Dr. Debra Gonsher, Chair of the Communications Arts & Sciences Department for her continued support for the festival.

“You can see so much heart up there on the screen, and it’s only because the filmmakers were putting themselves totally on the line to have these films exist,” said Professor Jeffrey Wisotsky of the Bronx Community College CAS Media and Digital Film Production Program.

The 2015 Eastman Kodak Student Filmmaker Awards were presented by Anne Hubble from Eastman Kodak Company. First prize went to Jody Torres for her film NO. Charlie Liriano won second prize for Dinner Date, and third prize was given out to Stephanie Garcia for her film Inside. Garcia also received the Avid Technology Award for excellence in Television Non-Linear Editing.

“There is no greater feeling than to see your own movie in a theater,” said Torres who also received the 5th Annual Steve Garfinkel Memorial Award for Excellence in Media and Digital Film Production. “I am so very thankful to everyone that helped me create this movie.”

The Steve Garfinkel Memorial Award was presented by fellow cinematographer Sol Negrin, ASC. “Steve’s record of helping students with their films is legendary,” said Negrin.

Christopher H. Byfield received the 6th Annual Marie Nesbitt Promise Prize, established in 2007 by BCC alumna, Vikki L. Pryor, founder of the Change Create Transform Foundation. The $2,500 prize was created in memory of Pryor’s grandmother, Marie Nesbitt.

The 2015 Chairperson’s Alumni Award was presented to Ferbie Vazquez for his film Shot to Remember while the 2015 Peter J. Rondinone Screenwriting Memorial Award recipients were: Franny Del Orbe, Charlie Liriano, Geoffrey Olson, and Jody Torres.

Jody Torres was the recipient of the first Nancy Littlefield Memorial Award, established by the Bronx Community College Foundation for achievement by a woman student director in the BCC Media and Digital Film Production Program. The award was named after Nancy Littlefield, who was the first woman assistant director admitted to the East Coast Directors Guild of America and served as the executive director of the City’s film office, then called the Mayor’s Office of Motion Pictures and Television. The award was presented by Clifford Jacobs, Programming and Access Services Manager Queens Public Television; David Moy, Supervisor of Field Operations, Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting; and Sol Negrin, ASC, International Cinematographers Guild, Co-Chair of the ASC Eastern Region Education Committee.

Students in BCC’s Media and Digital Film Production A.S. degree program acquire a diverse skill set through various media courses and hands-on experiences in studio and sound production, field production, camera operation, lighting, audio recording, digital graphics and animation, and editing. To learn more, visit bcc.cuny.edu.