University of Rochester students who aspire to filmmaking have the opportunity to gain recognition and a wider audience for their work through a newly launched film competition on campus. The Gollin Film Festival, named for Professor Emeritus of English Richard Gollin, is sponsored by the University's Film and Media Studies Program.
"This event honors the contributions of Richard Gollin while supporting students' creativity," said Joanne Bernardi, director of film and media studies. "The competition gives students the chance to explore and gain skills in visual media production and is an example of the opportunities Rochester students have for interdisciplinary experiences."
Gollin founded the film studies program at the University in 1976 with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and headed it until his retirement in 1989. The author of A Viewer's Guide to Film: Art, Artifices, and Issues, Gollin also received recognition for his research and writings on Romantic poetry and the Victorian novel. The program has expanded and is now called the Film and Media Studies Program and has two major tracks: film studies with a non-production emphasis and media studies with a production emphasis. A minor is also available. The program also administers a graduate student fellowship at the George Eastman House. The interdepartmental faculty of the Film and Media Studies Program is also a primary resource for the new collaborative master's degree program between the University's Department of English and the George Eastman House, The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation.
The Gollin Film Festival is open to all University of Rochester undergraduate students. Students can submit up to two works that they've made since enrolling at the University of Rochester. Entries can be in formats such as mini-DV, VHS, and DVD, while digital or interactive pieces will be accepted in 16 mm and on CD-R or Macintosh-compatible DVD, excluding DVD+R. Students must make sure their work is compatible with most DVD players.
Cash prizes will be presented to entries awarded first, second, and third place during a screening of the winning films on Friday, May 5, in Hoyt Auditorium on the River Campus. Works will be judged by a panel of four faculty members associated with the Film and Media Studies Program. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, April 20. Students must sign up in advance and label their entries with their name, the title and length of the work, and format. More information is available by contacting the Film and Media Studies Program office in 427 Rush Rhees Library, (585) 275-5757.