College of the Pacific
Students and Activities
Pacific Student Film Festival
The Film Studies Program hosts two annual Pacific Student Film Festivals. The first event, scheduled for fall, is open to all students, staff and faculty at Pacific. The second event, the Pacific Student Film Award Showcase, screens in the spring and is the culmination of our Introduction to Film Production student work.
CineCat awards are given for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Actor and Best Actress. Special awards are also given from time to time for Excellence in Filmmaking, or other noteworthy categories.
Student Accolades
A short film made by two of our film students won one of the top honors at this year's (2009) Sundial Film Festival in Redding, California. The movie, "Baba Yaga," was made by students Eric Pace and Philips Shum. Based on a Slavik fairy tale, the film presents viewers with a captivating coming-of-age tale of a young woman who learns to be kind and self-reliant.
Filming of Baba Yaga
Philips, who wrote the screenplay, was accepted into the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts graduate program. Eric directed the movie and is currently a student at Pacific.
Last year, "Baba Yaga" won the awards for best screenplay and best cinematography in the Pacific Student Film Festival. Their entry in the Sundial Festival was the first time both students had ever submitted a film to a film festival outside of college.
"The film successfully used creative special effects, makeup and locations to further the narrative and characters," said Patti McCarthy, film professor at Pacific. "Philips and Eric are exceptional filmmakers, and I know this is only the first of many awards in their collective careers."
Film Events at Pacific
The Film Studies Program often presents or co-hosts film-related events on campus. Two examples are described here:
Rocky Horror Picture Show
The showing of the classic cult film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" included fully costumed cast members who re-created the entire film, scene by scene, while it played on the screen.
As is the norm for Rocky Horror showings, audience participation was encouraged and expected.
The film was shown at the Pacific Theatre on campus.
Actor Gregory Walcott Speaks at Pacific
Gregory Walcott, a character actor who has appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows during the past 50 years, came to Pacific to discuss one of the movies that made him famous: the cult film classic "Plan 9 from Outer Space." The film was shown during the lecture.
"Greg is an amazing talent and one of the foremost character actors of the American cinema, having worked in over 300 television shows and 50 films during his stellar career,'" said film professor Patti McCarthy. " 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' is probably the best bad cult film of all time and has been celebrated by fans for its unique high camp aesthetic and endearing ineptitude."
Watch Gregory Walcott's lecture on YouTube
After "Plan 9," Walcott went on to star in many better films and television shows, including the Oscar-winning "Norma Rae," Steven Spielberg's "The Sugarland Express," and the television show "Dallas." He also had his own television show at one point in his career—"87th Precinct"—which co-starred Robert Lansing and aired from 1961 to 1962.
Dragging Gender Through Glitter
Film students Christina Argyres and Becky Meda
One of the benefits of a self-designed film major is that students can elect to take advanced classes in filmmaking. Students Becky Meda and Christina Argyres produced their film "Dragging Gender Through Glitter" as a senior project for the Advanced Film Production independent study requirement. It is a documentary about breaking down gender stereotypes through drag, filmed at the University of the Pacific PRIDE Center's 2008 Drag Show. The film was shown at the Gender and Performing Arts Festival in April 2009.
On Location at Pacific: PAC 2 TV
During the semester, students are interviewed by their filmmaking professor, Dr. Patti McCarthy, and talk about their projects while they are being made, providing insight into the creative process. These interviews allow viewers to get to know the filmmakers on a much more personal level and share in their unique vision of the world.
The interviews from the past year have been compiled into a student-generated television series that will air on Pacific's PAC 2 TV, allowing viewers to learn about what it takes to make a film and get to know the student filmmakers of Pacific intimately. During in-depth interviews, filmmakers discuss the creative process and screen their final work. Titled "On Location at Pacific," the series features between 15 to 21 filmmaking students each season and 50 to 72 films.
