Film festival premieres student work

The Harkins Cine’ Capri of Scottsdale hosted the
Phoenix Film Festival from April 8 to April 15.
Several films from this event were made by SCC
film students and local independent filmmakers.

The much anticipated premiere of “Deadfall Trail," directed
by SCC film instructor Roze, was screened
to a packed house on April 9.

The film involves three men who venture into the
woods for a ‘survival’ weekend. Like every good venture
into the woods, things go terribly wrong.

Flanked by cast and crew immediately following the
film, Roze was thrilled with the audience response.
“It was so incredible to see them (the audience) react
to every moment we were hoping they would react to,"
Roze said.

Interest in “Deadfall Trail” is spreading globally, and
Roze is optimistic for the future.

“We're starting to get some international sales. We
already sold (to) Germany and Thailand. We're negotiating
Hong Kong," Roze said. "This summer we are getting
a DVD release and we want to have a DVD release party
in Detroit.”

Two of the six films screened were directed by current
SCC film students: “Couched” directed by Kyle Asmundson
and “20% Off ” directed by Chris Redish.

The films covered a wide range of subjects and styles.
“Fallen Hero” directed by Marco Santiago dealt with
the loss of a loved one as well as the loss of dignity.
“Lost Mail” directed by Beth Alspaugh and Kevin Phipps,
explored the loss of inspiration when hopes and dreams
are abandoned.

“I’ve been really impressed this year by what I’ve seen
so far. The quality of filmmaking in Arizona seems to be
going up exponentially," Redish said.

SCC film students were directly involved in making
nearly all of the films shown at the Short Film Showcase.
The Phoenix Film Festival provides local and international
filmmakers an opportunity to screen their work
to large audiences; many films are being seen on the big
screen for the first time.