Group of CAD students, faculty in the running for local film awards

When the Fast Forward Film Festival holds its official screenings for this year’s selected films Friday and Saturday, viewers may notice more than half of them in the adult program are affiliated with the College of Art and Design at RIT.

Eight of the 14 pictures in the adult category picked for the local festival’s showings were created by CAD students and faculty. The nominated films that are up for awards this weekend are short in format (five minutes or less) and “convey the urgency of our environmental problems,” according to the initiative’s website.

The festival celebrates the fine work of filmmakers in the Rochester area. 

The visual storytellers from CAD chosen to partake in the festival — and descriptions and titles of their work, according to the festival’s program — include:

• “Birds of a Feather” by Nick Iannaco (film and animation): In a search for food, a pigeon and a homeless man form an unlikely friendship. A screenshot of Iannaco's film is on the left. 

• “Blue” by Maryam Farahzadi (MFA film and animation): A short film about the struggle of being different.

• “ela” by Mackenzie Bates (film and animation): A story of creation.

• “Glad-to-know-ya Farm” by Mimi Ace (graphic design): A look into the life of a small family farm located in Marion, N.Y.

• “Log.txt” by Ben Doran (film and animation): A lumberjack stumbles upon a computer who was most certainly left alone for a reason.

• “Love Song of the Drone” by Brian Larson (associate professor, film and animation): An animated music video about the life (and love) cycles of a drone bee.

• “RIT Beekeepers Club” by Oscar Estrada (motion picture science): A new club committed to improving Rochester Institute of Technology’s sustainability by creating an apiary and harvesting local honey.

• “When It Rains” by Nick Iannaco (film and animation): A determined raindrop journeys to water a flower blocked from the rain.

The 17 nominated environmental-themed films — 14 in the adult category, three in youth — will be showcased throughout the festival’s two-night event.  

Opening night is from 7-9 p.m. Friday in the Little Theatre, 240 East Ave., Rochester. A sneak peek of the films that are in the funning for Fast Forward Filmmaker Awards will be screened. Attendees have the chance to vote for the Audience Choice Award.

A festival gala is then scheduled for 6:30-10 p.m. Saturday at the George Eastman Museum, 900 East Ave., Rochester. Light fare and refreshments will be served during a reception that runs until 8 p.m. in the Potter Peristyle Lobby and then the Dryden Theatre is slated to hold showings. Juried awards and the Audience Choice Award are presented at the gala.

The top three selected films in both the adult and youth programs will result in cash awards. The three adult winners will receive $1,000 while the youth victors will be rewarded with $500. One finalist in both the adult and youth categories will win $500 and $250, respectively, for the Audience Choice Award.

For tickets, visit Fast Forward’s online box office. Opening-night adult tickets are $8 while students/seniors/Little Theatre members are admitted for $6. Admission for the gala is $30 for adults and $25 for students/seniors/Little Theatre members.

In its third year, the Fast Forward Film Festival is an initiative of the nonprofit “The Lost Bird Project.”