Four Wofford College students received awards at the first WOCO Film Festival, held May 4 in the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. The festival showcased student work in film and digital media.
A panel of four judges presented these awards: Best Screenplay, Mayson Liner ’19, an English major with a concentration in film and digital media from Athens, Tenn.; Best Direction, Andreas Suri ’19, a Spanish major from Kennesaw, Ga.; and Best Overall Film, Mae Hoffman ’18, a theatre major with a minor in film and digital media from Swansea, S.C. The Audience Award went to Tristan Gordon ’18, a Spanish and English major with a minor in philosophy from Monroe, N.C. Each award came with a cash prize of $250.
The Wofford community attended viewings of the digital media projects in classrooms before the screening of student films in the competition.
“Students, faculty and staff gained a lot of insight from seeing a diverse range of student work and hearing about its reach across so many professional fields,” Dr. Julie Sexeny, associate professor of English and coordinator of the minor and concentration in film and digital media.
Judges for the film competition were: Myna Joseph, whose short film “Man” screened at Cannes in Directors’ Fortnight as well as Sundance, SXSW and New Directors/New Films; Jen Fineran, a non-fiction filmmaker and editor known for her intimate and eclectic storytelling; Lukas Hauser, a film and video editor based in Spartanburg who has edited several HBO documentaries, including 2008’s “The Black List;” and Matt Johnston, founder and CEO of Marquee Poster, one of the country’s leading film poster galleries with an emphasis on international works.
By Laura Hendrix Corbin