High Falls Film Festival to showcase students’ work

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Image from the animation Good Hair Day, one of the RIT student films to be featured at Rochester High Falls International Film Festival on May 4.

Films produced by students, an alumna and a professor from RIT’s School of Film and Animation will be showcased at the annual Rochester High Falls International Film Festival. This year marks the seventh consecutive year of RIT’s presence at the international venue for women filmmakers.

The films—animation and live-action works that range from documentaries to fictional to experimental—will be shown at 11:15 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. on May 4 at the Little Theatre, 240 East Ave.

The following will be featured at 3:20 p.m. as part of the program called “RIT Student Shorts: Women of SOFA”:

• Jennifer Brodka (fourth-year student)—Remembering to Forget, a documentary in which Brodka convinces her grandfather to reveal his experiences in the Korean War.
• Melissa Fuss (third-year student)—Commute, an abstract visual odyssey inspired by something we do everyday.
• Lidiya Gavrilenko (fourth-year student)—Good Hair Day, an animation about a young boy who learns that it’s not really how you look, it’s what you do with what you’ve got.
• TzuHui Lin (MFA student)—I am Not a Superhero, a fictional film about a young writer who realizes she must face herself in order to continue creating.
• Tristyn Pease (’07 BFA)—Invaders from Inner Space, an animated tale about an alien that faces the most unexpected visitors from outer space.
• Elizabeth Phillips (third-year student)—dreamtalk, a visual and aural collage film that explores the perceptions of dream and the magical moment before one wakes.
• Lindsey Timko and Lauren Tracy (third-year students)—Ben’s Mom, a drama about young Ben, who is deeply affected by the irresponsible actions of his mother and the dynamics of his troubled family.
• Vanessa Ward (third-year student)—Water for Alpha, an experimental film of a patient observation that utilizes microphotography to reveal the beauty and complexities of fluid movement.
• Tisa Zito (third-year student)—A Strange Love Affair, a filmmaker’s personal exploration of addiction and a lifelong friendship.

“This festival provides our talented students a platform to show their films to an international audience,” says Cat Ashworth, professor in RIT’s School of Film and Animation. “The students get to see their films projected in a real theater, and throughout the six-day festival they have the opportunity to attend educational workshops, view films and meet with producers and directors from around the world. RIT is honored to be a part of the festival year after year.”

Ashworth’s own feature length documentary, The Oldest Mother on the Block, was selected to be part of the festival. It will be shown at 11:15 a.m. May 4 at the Little Theatre. The hour-long film follows three women over age 44 as they struggle to achieve a pregnancy and later as they cope with unique problems of being older moms.

“The Oldest Mother on the Block honestly examines the complex tangle of emotions that late motherhood raises,” says Jennifer Lovgilio, a freelance writer. “From fertility problems and in vitro fertilization to fears about the future and the exhaustion of chasing a toddler around, Ashworth offers an intimate, thoughtful look at a big topic.”

Ashworth produced the documentary on a one-year sabbatical in 2003. The documentary won Best Documentary Film in the Ohio Independent Film Festival.