There was a mix of seasoned student filmmakers and new talent. Every single one of the five filmmakers expressed gratitude to all who were involved in helping make their films a reality. 

Joe Merkel said that premiering does get easier each time you do it. Merkel has two films premiering. “Seven Year Senior” is about a radio major that has no right to be a radio major as he tries to teach a freshman how to be a radio major.  

“Noise” is about “basically a college student alone in his apartment at night,” Merkel said. Merkel said “Noise” came about because he wanted to try his hand at something a little scary and he enjoys sound design, so he mixed the two.  

Gage Dawson’s film “Six Shooter” is about a guy getting drunk, why he is getting drunk and of the people surrounding him when he really needs help. He said during the filmmaking process, one must write a good script but then also must do a good job of bringing it to life in production and post-production. Even though this isn’t his first film to premiere, he said this is a little different since it is the first film he has written and directed on his own. 

Leah Bennett’s first film “This is He” premiered. Bennett said that she was initially inspired by “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” but as she went through the movie making process realized the script she had written did not fit the quiet feel of that movie, so she sought inspiration that better fit her script and found “Euphoria.”  

Bennett said her film is about a girl struggling with gender dysphoria and discovering who they truly are. Bennett said that as a part of the LGBTQ community, she hopes the film is inspirational and gives a voice to queer people in the area. 

Nolan Flanigan said it’s a tremendous honor to be able to produce a film during his first year at WSC. Flanigan’s film “Invisible” is about a stereotypical nerdy awkward college freshman trying to find his way and adjust his mindset to the new environment.  

When asked what was the most challenging about producing the film, he said so many technical issues. Flanigan said it is important to be able to adapt to these problems and to have experienced people around who know what to do in those situations.  

Nathan Blizzards’ film “The Divide” which was produced during an eight-hour film challenge is described by Blizzard as “A man tries to run away from his wife & consequences ensue.”  

Blizzard said that an eight-hour challenge helps one learn their priorities and work effectively as a team, but it doesn’t give one time to do everything they want to do as the time limits certain things. Blizzard said he is inspired by unknown directors on YouTube who don’t have the equipment, resources or sometimes experience but manage to produce incredible quality short films.  

It takes a team of people to complete each film start to finish so this is the reason each of the directors expressed thanks to all involved. They truly are thankful for the team of people that helped produce their film. If studented missed the films last night, they might encore at the February film premiere but if they do not, many new student films will premiere in February of 2024.