04 May Celebrating the Process with Philadelphia Student Film Festivals

BY SOPHIA ABRAHAM-RAVESON

With the start of May, student film festival season has begun in the Greater Philadelphia Area. While Philadelphia is home to many high quality unique film festivals, these smaller free festivals are a great opportunity to support emerging filmmakers as many of them show their work to the public for the first time. These student film festivals lack pretension and swell with community pride, making them a delight to be a part of, whether as a programmer, filmmaker, or audience member. 

cinéSPEAK chatted with festival directors at both the Diamond Screen Film and Media Arts Festival at Temple University and the Tri-Co Film Festival (which features student films from Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges). Through the interviews we were able to learn more about their processes, understand their place in the Philadelphia film and media landscape, and hear details about this year’s festivals. 

Both Tri-Co Film Festival Directors are alumni of the colleges and screened work at the festival as students. They comment on how impactful it was for them and their careers to see their films as part of a festival. Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe, who graduated from Haverford in 2018 and has since produced for a Spanish-language news show and hosted his own podcast, says, “The films I saw at Tri-Co inspired me and showed me what was possible to produce in a classroom setting. The film I submitted in 2017 was accepted, and it was rewarding to see my work on a big screen. In the midst of the stress of a college semester it can be easy to distance yourself from your film as soon as you turn it in for an assignment. Having your film be screened in a theater allows you to pause and take in this work you put so much time in. The process of submitting my film was a learning opportunity I value, as it taught me how to package and present art that was personal to me, a process that—as forced and artificial as it may seem—is imperative.”

The other Tri-Co Film Festival Director, Ruby Bantariza, who graduated from Swarthmore in 2020, similarly shares, “Attending the Tri-Co Film Festival during my freshman year was exciting and motivating. The following year I was determined to submit a film. My grandma passed away in 2016 and I knew I wanted to honor her in a film. I had an archive of films and photos I had collected over the years documenting our time together. The process of creating the film, My JOY, provided me with a unique opportunity to process my grief and embrace vulnerability in the stories I wanted to share in my films. Seeing my film on a big screen at the festival was special and affirming!”

While the process of filmmaking is valuable in its own right, it’s clear that the experience of screening work publicly and as part of a curated festival can allow students to really see themselves as filmmakers and artists in a new way. Ireashia Bennett, one of the directors of Diamond Screen and a first-year graduate student in Temple’s Film and Media Arts Program, shares this sentiment as they talk about how student festivals help build supportive relationships between filmmakers. “It has felt really enriching to build a sense of community through Diamond Screen at Temple. Filmmaking can feel very isolating and competitive, so I hope to continue to positively impact the community within Temple’s FMA program and in Philadelphia’s film industry at large,” Bennet says.

Both festivals are small: Diamond Screen entails two evenings of short films, and Tri-Co involves just one. However, a lot is packed into that short amount of time. Jauregui-Volpe highlights what stands out about this year’s Tri-Co Film Festival program, stating, “These films explore how pictures (both still and moving) impact our memories, allow for improvisation, comment on our society and economy, [and] find joy (even humor) in the midst of misfortune. Many of the pieces this year were deeply personal, and grappled with the passing of time/aging and family tragedy.” 

Bennett saw similar depth in the Diamond Screen program this year. “What I love the most about some films this year is how telling a story in an experimental way can expand what we know about tough topics like grief and death, loneliness, family dynamics, and mental health. Some of the filmmakers are masterful at taking audiences on an emotional journey that feels fulfilling at the end,” they commented. 

Both festivals thoughtfully connect their student makers with the broader community they are entering. Diamond Screen has 19 jurors watching the films and selecting prizes: all of them are part of Temple’s extended network, and many of them are active Philadelphia-area film professionals. Tri-Co Film Festival, in addition to their two jurors who are working film artists and programmers, partners with local film organizations who donate prizes to winning filmmakers. “These have included festival passes to BlackStar Film Festival, memberships to PhillyCAM, or tickets to cinéSPEAK screenings,” Jauregui-Volpe and Bantariza add. This gives the students resources to connect with and participate in film events and classes throughout the city. 

Both festivals are free and open to the public. While the Diamond Screen Film and Media Arts Festival at Temple University just passed on May 2 and 3, you still have the opportunity to attend the Tri-Co Film Festival on Monday, May 8.

How to Attend the Tri-Co Film Festival: Reserve a free ticket here. 

When and Where: Monday, May 8 at 7 PM at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.

If you can’t make it on Monday, you can also watch the full program for free here from Tuesday, May 9, to Monday May 15.

*Featured Image: Image from a past year’s Diamond Screen Film and Media Arts Festival. Courtesy of the festival team.

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