Southeast to host Fault Line Film Festival Gala

Southeast Missouri State University is hosting its ninth annual Fault Line Film Festival this month, highlighting the accomplishments of 45 filmmaking students from across the Midwest.

A main gala and awards ceremony is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday in Forrest H. Rose Theatre, according to a university news release.

"Our purpose will always be to encourage and promote the work of student filmmakers," Southeast professor of mass media Fred Jones said.

The kickoff event for the festival will be a keynote address by Steph Scupham, Kansas City Film Commissioner, at noon Wednesday in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall at the Southeast River Campus, the release stated.

Each film submitted by students is entered into one of six categories: animation, comedy, drama, high school, mystery/suspense and other.

An accolade for best film is awarded within each category, as well as an award for Best of Festival.

An award also is given to a film that showcases outstanding technical achievement, and another is given to a film voted on by the audience.

And according to the release, the awards are $250 per category and the overall Best of Festival winner will receive a $1,000 prize.

One of the entries in the competition is Southeast junior Braydon Leadbetter, who has been making films since the age of 14, he said. He came from St. Louis to pursue a filmmaking career.

Last year was the first time the TV and film major submitted a Fault Line Film, Leadbetter said, taking home the Redhawk Award.

His entry this year is "Awaken," a "scifi-ish" and "very dystopian" film, Leadbetter said.

The jury is made up of several award-winning storytellers, including Steve Turner, award-winning filmmaker and director of "The Past is Never Dead;" Bryan Schilligo, award-winning filmmaker and television producer with KFVS Creative Services; and Kyle Hinton, filmmaker and news/content specialist with KFVS, according to the release.

"Filmmaking gives students a voice and a chance to share the things that move them. The audience gets to share in that too," Jones said in the release. "Film festivals like Fault Line are a unique experience, because in one evening you become a part of so many different lives."

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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