SUNYWide Film Festival 8 Aftermath; 11.14.17

SUNYWide Film Festival 8 Aftermath; 11.14.17

Hey everyone! I hope all is well with school and work and life. At this point in the semester, I know a lot of people are kind of starting to go crazy. I, on the other hand, feel a great amount of relief. This past weekend was the 8th annual SUNYWide Film Festival, which my friends and I had been working very hard to organize. Since the beginning of the fall semester, we'd been working to design all the posters, flyers, and postcards to advertise the event. We worked out catering menus, snack and drink tables, and a wine bar. We had to sell advertising to pay for all of this, and lay it out in a program that showcased all we had been working for. It was a lot of work, and now that it's over, a great relief to no longer worry about it every day.

The weekend went relatively smoothly. The first night, our opening gala, featured a live jazz band, wine and hors d'oeuvres, and everyone dressed to the nines. We heard a few words from some of the people who made the event possible, all while mingling and networking.

On Friday we enjoyed hours and hours and hours and hours... of programming. From 9 am until 2 am we saw student films, faculty films, had the opportunity to attend hands-on workshops from animation professionals, music composers, canon representatives, and more. After a lunch break from one of the food trucks available for the event, USA Network's executive producer and writer of the hit show Mr. Robot, Kyle Bradstreet, gave an inspiring speech, showed some clips of his work, and spoke to the audience during a Q&A session. At midnight, we had a special screening to honor the late George A. Romero. After an opening speech from Buff State alum and local filmmaker Kyle Mecca, we had a screening of the 1968 "Night of the Living Dead." Of all the films I saw that day, I have to give a shout out to one that really touched my heart; "Eddie, Milo, and the Box" by Issack Cintron.

Saturday morning brought the awards ceremony and raffle drawing, where students were given thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and equipment from our sponsors. The awards, as listed on the SUNYWide Film Festival website, are...

Grand Jury Award: Torin Murphy, "other real"

Narrative

Winner:  Anthony Riso, "Fraud"

Honorable Mention: Vincent DiVirgilio, "Beyond the Sea"

Documentary

Winner:  Heather Bey, "The Fierce Five Percent: Women in the Sound Industry"

Honorable Mention: Heather Mezynski, "Silver"

Animation

Winner:  Sarah Gaygen, "Kamunyak"

Honorable Mention:  Mattea Guldy, "La Luz"

Experimental

Winner:  Quinn Lachler, "Losing It"

Honorable Mention:  Sam Eisenbaum, "Ode to You and I"

Audience Choice Award:  Jordan Tetewsky, "Bolue Vience"

So that's a wrap for this year's festival. I am honored to have been a part of it, and can only hope for the best in the years to come. Thank you to everyone who supported the event, it is much appreciated.

We are still selling t-shirts through our website, get them while you can!

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SUNYWide Film Festival; 8.30.17

SUNYWide Film Festival; 8.30.17

Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely summer and are ready to get back into the swing of the fall semester (if you aren't in school, lucky you). I started my senior year this week. I can't believe how quickly college has gone, and it's kind of intimidating to think about what I'm going to do afterwards... but for now, I've got a lot to focus on this semester.

I've got a few really light and easy classes just to tie up some loose ends, a class just for fun, and a class that I feel like I've been waiting my whole college career for. This semester, I'm taking a class called "The Film Festival" with professor A.D. Annas. This is a one-time class for Buffalo State, because it revolves entirely around a film festival coming to the Buffalo area.

Ever heard of the SUNYWide Film Festival (SWFF)? This November will be the 8th annual event, which rotates between SUNY campuses every year. This is the first time since SWFF's inception that it has been held at Buffalo State.

The class, created by Annas, is for a small group of students who have been selected to make this event happen. In the coming months, we will be working on different elements such as social media, advertising, marketing, and more to bring this event to life. Our goal is to host the largest SWFF to date!

To do this, we need your help. Follow us on social media to keep track of all of our latest updates, deadlines, and activities.

Can't wait to see you all at Buffalo State, November 9th - 11th!

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

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Shop

Shop; 7.6.17

Hello everyone! I'm just checking in to say I hope you're all having a great summer so far and had a safe and happy 4th of July.

Today, the Official Darrian Dowdy Productions Online Shop has launched! Check it out here. I hope you guys enjoy the products we have to offer, and hope to have more in the future. Thanks for stopping by!

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The End of a Semester; 5.10.17

The End of a Semester; 5.10.17

As this semester draws to an end, I have to reflect back on all of the opportunities I have been given. I am thankful for the connections I have made in the media production industry, around Buffalo and otherwise. I am thankful to have had access to an incredible arsenal of equipment that I wouldn't have been able to afford on my own. And I am thankful to have built a support system of people who love and cherish this work as much as I do.

I am proud to have completed my first documentary, Hometown Haunts: Urban Legends of New York and hope to continue adding on to what will be an incredible saga. Thank you to all of those who supported this film, and will continue to support it through its release.

On that note, I am looking forward to an incredible summer full of more opportunities to learn, grow, and create work as a filmmaker and photographer.

xx

Darrian

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