Will Tanner
Managing Editor
The night before the Academy Awards gave us many memorable moments. Las Positas held their annual film festival. Entrants from around the Bay Are a submitted their works all hoping to take home top honors. Prizes were awarded for the top poster, PSA, music video, horror, documentary and drama.
The Good
The best parts were two videos by Anthony Aguiar and Casey De Fremery.
Aguiar’s take won him the Best Drama Award. In his film “Cypress” a man filming the wilderness at a beach when he happens to see someone through the camera that isn’t there when the camera is not filming. Aguiar drew his inspiration from ghost stories, and it paid off with his second award at the film festival.
“I never usually win anything so it was a shock to me,” Aguiar said. “It was surprising and humbling.”
De Fremery won the Emerging Talent award for his film “The Epilogue.” Perfectly placed at the end of the show, his dark take on a short story showed the human side to the afterlife and how the choices you make affect those around you.
The other films that won awards were good, but they didn’t carry the same impact that the two standouts had.
The Bad
Sometimes things just manage to get in the way of a good film. The festival had its share of cringe-worthy moments that knocked a few films out of contention.
Something about listening to white noise playing in a documentary that is almost as loud as the person speaking is a little jarring. Not to mention when the background music drowns out all but the loudest words.
Worst of all though was the exact same recipe being repeated within less than a minute. I know that brussels sprouts can taste good with shallots, butter, bacon and being crisped up in the oven. You just said that. Why does it need to be said again?
The Youtube
While it could be nestled into the bad, Youtube played a huge part in the film festival.
Walking into the room, an intermission clip from a drive through theater was showing on the big screen. When the clip ran out, there was an error message that popped up as well as the related videos. It was awkward for everyone.