If the recent glut of summer sequels has left you bored and disenchanted with the movies, then check out the plot for this student film: "Things go awry when two leprechauns kidnap the Easter bunny under the mistaken impression that Easter falls on St. Patrick's Day."
That's the synopsis for the animated film "Erin Go Wrong," one of four student films that will be shown Friday at the Times Cinema as part of the Student Films Across America Festival.
Milwaukee is the second stop for the festival, which showcases the work of high school and college filmmakers. A $10 ticket buys a viewing of four films -- the prizewinners for best comedy, drama and documentary and a fourth film from a local filmmaker. The aforementioned "Erin Go Wrong," directed by Rochester Institute of Technology students Brian Kavanagh and Joshua Huber, is the local film for Milwaukee.
The festival, founded by Drake University student and his brother Brian, a recent grad of Cornell University, is meant to give the underappreciated genre of student filmmaking more attention.
"My brother and I are filmmakers ourselves, and we noticed there aren't any festivals dedicated to just student films. There's usually just a student category in film festivals -- if that."
Steve Amos organized the Door County Student Film Festival last year, but has been working as many as 40 to 60 hours a week trying to get the festival nationwide -- 40 to 60 unpaid hours. Amos has crafted the back of the tour bus into a makeshift office, where the staff will work to promote the festival as it makes its way across the country.
"The company is non-profit, so everything we do has relied on contributions. We're hoping to get 100 people at each show -- which doesn't sound like much, but we don't know what to anticipate in each city," Amos says. "We basically have no money and are praying will be able to support ourselves on the road this summer."
More than 600 films were submitted from students from 44 states and 15 countries. At the end of the tour in August, a cash prize for $30,000 will be awarded to one student as decided by a panel of judges that includes screenwriter John August ("Big Fish," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), actor Michael Emerson ("Lost), and Washington Post critic Desson Thomson.
"The students have done a great job. The film that won the drama category also screened at Sundance -- this isn't an amateur show, these are some quality films," Amos says.
