Students get ready to debut projects during Student Film Festival at Southeast Missouri State University

Chris Shank knows what it's like to lose a younger sibling. He knows the pain the unexpected death of a loved one can bring, including the painful memories of those last days together.

"You never really forget the last time you see your brother alive or hear his voice. It's something that sticks with you," Shank said.

But Shank, a 25-year-old graduating film major at Southeast Missouri State University, has taken those memories and adapted them to film. His latest production, "Leave," will be shown for the first time during Southeast's Student Film Festival at 7 p.m. May 7 in the Rose Theatre.

Shank is one in a handful of seniors whose senior practicum films and projects will be featured at the festival. Fred Jones, film maker and professor of mass media at Southeast, said because the students' genres and styles are all different "it should be a pretty good variety of work."

While some of the students' films are comedies, mysteries and dramas, Shank's short film is a true account.

Chris Shank shoots a movie with actors Ross Bolinger, right, and Charles Davis at the Student Recreation Center. (Fred Lynch)

"This is my story, my life," he said.

Shank's brother, U.S. Army Cpl. Jeremy Shank, died Sept 6, 2006 in Balad, Iraq, from injuries received in combat while on a dismounted patrol, just weeks after he was deployed to Iraq. He was only 18 years old and one of the first local casualties of the war in Iraq.

After his brother's death, Shank poured his emotion out on paper and wrote the feature-length script for "The Reservist," a movie to honor his fallen brother. Now, two-and-a-half years later, he will share his story again but in a different way.

"This is a different incarnation of it. It is a little more true to life," Shank said.

He said the 20- to 25-minute short film centers around the last week his brother spent in town with family and friends.

"This one starts at the funeral. The rest is like a flashback for the last seven days he was home," Shank said. "It is a film about bonding, based around the fact that they may not see each other again."

On Monday Shank filmed at the Student Recreation Center on campus, one of the last places he and his brother went before his deployment to Iraq.

Other students, like as Matt Shead and Cora Luo, were also working to finish their films before the event. Shead said he is excited about the upcoming festival, but the deadline has him rushing some of the production.

Shead will be showing three films, including "Lawrence Spoker's Worst Day Ever." The 20-minute short film will focus on a young man who has been plagued with bad luck his entire life. "Basically the bulk of the story is the worst day of his life," Shead said.

Though this is Shead's first comedy, the crowd can count on one of his trademarks. As a fan of Quentin Tarantino, Shead said he also tries to keep some kind of signature in his films. Shead has his car in every film and has even created his own type of blue-filtered cigarette, the "Azul."

Matt Essner and Rob Dianora, and Joe Roussin will show films at the festival, as well as Cora Luo and Even Yang if their project is done in time.

Jones said the Student Film Festival will be the first of its kind at the Rose Theatre and a learning experience for the students and the community.

"It's a really good experience for students to have their work shown in front of an audience," he said. "I think the audience will be surprised and impressed by the talent these students have."

WANT TO GO?

What: Southeast's Student Film Festival

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7

Where: Rose Theatre, Southeast Missouri State University