Wayne State College hosted the Wildcat Spirit Film Festival at the Majestic Theatre on April 21; the festival entries were open for high schoolers and undergraduate college students located in Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa.  Students and WSC students were welcome to come see the films and the various other events that will occur throughout the day. 

“This year we’ve got two really great guests,” Dr. Michael White, program advisor for Film Production and Theory, said. “We’ve got Andrew Kightlinger, who directed ‘Lost on a Mountain in Maine’ for Sylvester Stallone.” 

 Also speaking at the event will be Rick Farmiloe,  one of Disney’s primary animators who has worked on pictures such as “Aladdin” and “The Little Mermaid.” 

Aside from the roughly 60 student films screening and two guest speakers, there will be two workshops which students can observe and participate in to learn more about pre-production and to gain on set film experience. 

“I’ll be doing more of a workshop on storytelling and script writing as well, especially for some of our beginning screenwriters,” Shelby Hagerdon, adjunct professor of Mass Communications said. “We’re always looking to have some advanced screenwriters in there too to be able to comment and help some of those beginning writers along.” 

Hagerdon’s pre-production workshop will be followed by an on-set film experience workshop with White. Students will get a chance to work on a fully simulated film set as they film a scene with current WSC film majors. 

This event was a must go for any students with an interest or passion in filmmaking, as it is a great opportunity to network with their like-minded peers, and some professionals in the field as well. 

“I’m really looking forward for students to have the opportunity to connect both with each other and then in the program, but then also with other students across Nebraska whether they be different colleges or in high school as well,” Hagerdon said. “I really wanna be able to get students working together so that way we can establish a really strong film community here.”