Campus MovieFest concludes in awards ceremony Thursday night

Out of 119 teams and a total of 1,547 student participants, 16 films were chosen at Thursday night’s Campus MovieFest screening in Ackerman Grand Ballroom to move on to the final level of the competition at Hollywood in June.

The night was put on by the Campus Events Commission, led by festival director Claire Kim, a third-year sociology student. The event was  hosted by two CEC members, as well as a Campus MovieFest representative.

The 16 selected movies, all five minutes or less, were shown in no particular order, and there were prizes for the audience, such as gift cards and a Harry Potter DVD box set.

The shorts selected were “Admissions,” “The Lion and the Fox,” “Two Taps For Me and You,” “The Outtake Movie,” “The Truth Is,” “Benched,” “09456,” “Setsunasa Burger,” “Retrospect,” “Sweet Dreams,” “The Violinist,” “Toilet Talk,” “Wander,” “A Joke,” “Small Talk” and “Obsession.”  Before the awards were announced, the selections were followed by a collaborated “Best of the Rest,” a montage of scenes from the other entries.

To conclude the evening, campus-wide awards were announced. The audience award for the team who brought the most supporters to the event was Delta Kappa Alpha’s “Sweet Dreams.” Next were the Silver Tripod Awards: “Setsunasa Burger” won for both best story and best production design and “Retrospect” won for best editing.

Matt Severyn took the award for best actor for his role in “Wander,” while Tamara Rhoads in “The Violinist,” who also wrote the music for the film, won best actress. 

The best drama was “Retrospect,” the only animated stop-motion film of the chosen 16, and best comedy went to “Toilet Talk.”

Finally, UCLA’s 2013 best picture, guaranteed to screen at the Hollywood Campus MovieFest finale, was “Wander,” which explores homelessness in the greater Los Angeles area.

Compiled by Natalie Green, Bruin contributor.