After the success of UW-Eau Claire’s first-ever short film festival last year, McIntyre Library will be hosting the event again at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 1. The screening of the films and the award ceremony will take place on the library’s lower level.

Anna Zook, the arts librarian, is the coordinator of the event. She said she was previously a judge for a short film festival at one of the local Montessori schools, which inspired her to bring the event to campus.

“I liked the concept, I liked the process, I liked seeing the creativity of the students,” Zook said. “I wanted to have something at our library similar to that.”

Zook worked with Lance Stridde, a third-year critical studies student, to discuss ideas for the festival’s submission requirements. Last year, the films needed to feature a library, a book as a prop and the line, “I like this book.”

This year, Stridde decided the entries must feature a piece from the library’s permanent art collection. The artwork could not be physically handled or moved, but it had to appear somewhere in film.

“I never see our permanent art collection very acknowledged,” Stridde said. “I thought it was important to get that out there a little bit more and get people thinking about the art in their library and the people that make it.”

According to the event flyer, the only other criterion is the duration of the film, as they are required to be one to five minutes long. Submissions were open to students and community members from April 1-28.

Stridde said she is planning on submitting a short piece for the festival called “The Death of Venus.” She said it was inspired by a painting in the permanent art collection called “Venus On A Halfshell,” which is an abstract reimagining of the “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli. 

According to Stridde, the film discusses the influences of body image due to social media through a series of interviews with different women. She mentioned the body changes that occur for many college students and the negative stigma surrounding it, such as the “freshman 15.”

“The biggest thing that we are trying to advocate for is body neutrality,” Stridde said. “Just accepting yourself as a vessel for your brain. Your body is so much more than the way it looks. Body positivity is incredibly important, but to love yourself first you have to recognize yourself as just a person.”

Stridde said she plans on screenwriting full-time after college, so she wanted to take part in the event to learn more skills and build her resume. She said this will be her first short film uploaded to YouTube and her first time using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere.

“I’m really looking forward to the feeling in that room, because I know that people will be very warm and very receptive,” Stridde said. “We have a good, supportive community on campus of aspiring artists.”

Michael Collins, a second-year actuarial science student, also submitted a short film for the festival. He said the plot centers around a girl who dies, wakes up and relives the same moment over and over before finally moving on.

Collins’ said the main girl is played by his girlfriend, second-year criminal justice student Cleo Moen. They mostly shot the film on Putnam Rock but found a way to include the sculpture on lower campus called “Sprites” for their featured art piece. 

The film is meant to have a surreal quality to it, according to Collins. He said he found inspiration from his favorite filmmaker, David Lynch, who passed away in January.

“I love anything with a mystery in it, which is I think part of why I like David Lynch so much,” Collins said. “You can kind of decide your own meaning. The answer that I arrive at may not be the answer that other people arrive at, and I think that’s the interesting part about movies in general.”

Zook said that David Lynch is also her favorite film director, and she was happy to see that influence in Collin’s work.

“(Collins) did a lot of cutaways and things where I was like, ‘Aw, like David Lynch,’” Zook said. “I actually cried a little when I watched his movie … With film, you see inside someone’s mind. You interpret it how you want, but they had a vision and you get to see that vision.”

There are currently four short film submissions that will be screened at the festival. Zook said that she, her husband and Rob Mattison, UW-Eau Claire’s audio visual technician, will be the judges. 

Awards will be presented for “Best Acting,” “Best Cinematography,” “Best Screenwriting,” “Best Use of Artwork(s)” and “Audience Choice.” According to Zook, gift certificates to Amanita Books will be included in the prizes.

Stridde said she will be assisting with hosting the event and introducing each film. She encourages students to attend the festival.

“Art starts in your hometown, so it’s really important to support people who are local,” Stridde said. “Especially right now in our political climate where people are feeling really discouraged, it’s really important to rally behind art and creativity, because that’s a safe space for a lot of people.”

Matczak can be reached at [email protected].