The Lee University Cinema program recently hosted its 16th annual Film Festival, an event where students screen and present their short films to an audience of students, faculty, and community guests. Nine films were selected for screening at the festival.    

“This was yet another outstanding LeeU Film Festival,” said Matthew Fisher, professor of cinema. “Our venue, Pangle Hall, gave everything a stylish atmosphere, and we got to try out a brand-new step-and-repeat banner that was designed exclusively for this event. Each film had something special, and I was particularly impressed with the cinematography this year.”   

 

Lee Cinema organized the event with support from both the Office of Student Connections and Engagement and Campus Events. The evening was hosted by Lee students Genre Davis and Jay Jay Tanksley. 

 

“Call Time,” directed by Haylee Vernon and produced by Ava Donahue, won the Faculty Choice Award, presented by the Communication Arts faculty and staff in recognition of the film’s excellence in collaboration, creativity, and storytelling. 

 

The mockumentary film is about an aspiring actress who is working as a production assistant on an independent film. A documentary crew captures the chaos as she unexpectedly gets her big break when the lead actress is fired. 

 

“Being selected to participate in Lee’s Film Fest was such an honor!” said Donahue. “I was proud to produce ‘Call Time’ and see the film get so much well-deserved recognition. It was wonderful to see so many people at the event to support independent filmmaking.” 

 

The Audience Choice Award, given to the film that received the most votes from the audience, was received by “SURRENDER,” directed by Isaac Mendez and produced by Sam Gregory.  

 

The short film is a music-driven Christian silent short film that follows a girl overwhelmed by isolation and pain. When she reaches her breaking point, a divine intervention pushes her to confront what surrendering to God truly means.  

 

“I’m so honored and blessed to have my senior film, ‘SURRENDER’ selected for LeeU’s Film Festival and to win the Audience Choice Award,” said Mendez. “This has been a more than nine-month process from pre-production to distribution, and I’m so thankful for everyone’s support and making this film possible. I hope my film brings people to Jesus, whether it’s for the first time or the first time in a long time. I’m so excited to see where this film goes!” 

 

Other films screened include “Extra! Extra!,” “Tradimento,” “Just Another Date Night,” “Vestige,” “Sucker,” “The Maybe List,” and “The Leaves’ Colors.” 

 

Students were invited to submit any film they had produced in the past year. Each submitted film was screened by a panel of faculty judges who chose which films to feature in the festival.  

 

For more information about Lee’s cinema program, visit leeucinema.com.