Trinity talent is also represented- in 2013, filmmakers Erik Bloomquist '14, ~estBridge Scholar Bettina Gonzalez 'r6, and K.C. Clark '13 took part. In 2012, Four Miles, a film by Brian Plungis ' r4, came in second place, and Intervention: Smartphone, by Anson McCook '12, received Honorable Mention i.n the audience choice category. To be considered, fiJms must be no longer than IO minutes. And that's difficult, says Cleary, COO of a Boston-based investment fi.rm. "It's hard to get your message across in just IO minutes. These students do a fantastic job." The festival awards several cash prizes thanks to Cleary's support. In 2013, the top prize went to Charlie Redd, a junior from New York University, for his comedy, Reservations, about a young man who discovers that heaven is actually an old and overbooked hotel. "The Trinity Film Festival not only offered me the chance to screen my short film in front of a responsive audience at a beautiful venue, it was also an opportunity to meet other young filmmakers , to learn from their work, and to be inspired by them," he said at the awards ceremony. Award-winning director and writer Lauren Wolkstein, a judge at the 2013 festival, says the event is "a wonderful showcase of the emerging talent coming out of undergraduate film
programs around the U.S." Wolkstein was named one of the top 25 emerging filmmakers at the 2on New York Film Festival. The birth and rise of the festival comes as no surprise to Cleary. "This is the quintessential Trinity story," he says. "It's about how a student can come up with an idea, collaborate with Trinity peers, faculty, staff, alumni, and the president of the College, and make it happen. There are few places where a student can do that. It also helps that John Michael is one gifted individual ." Riggio echoes those sentiments. "John Michael has vision and an amazing capacity for organization. He's the kind of person who makes things happen." Mason, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, designed his own interdisciplinary major in American cultural history. He captained the varsity track team for two years and founded the Trinity Film Society, which holds film -related events at Cinestudio. "He's an exceptional young man," says Jones. "He ran with this idea- as fast as he ever ran for a track meet." In fact, the idea for TFF came to Mason when Cinestudio held a special screening of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Mason had produced a 12-minute film that was shown before the classic thriller. "It wasn't going to win an Oscar, but I loved seeing my work on the big screen," he says. That's when Mason approached Alford. Now a graduate student
at Trinity studying for a master's in American studies with a focus in American history and serving as an assistant coach for Trinity's track and cross-country teams, Mason had no idea how much work putting together a national film festival would entail. "The short answer is that I put in a lot of hours," he says. Mason, who grew up outside Boston, spends much of his time pitching the festival to talented film students and recruiting student volunteers. As TFF's director, he oversees everything from the selection of judges to the catering for the awards banquet. Fortunately, he has help from students, who this year include computer science major and Thomas J. and Frank A. Hagarty Scholar Liam Doran '14, who, working with graduate Scotty Eckenthal '12, is building the 2014 TFF Web site. "It's really about the team," says Doran. "[TFF] has the same vibe as a start-up. It's young people building something from the ground up." As Mason and his team look forward to the third festival , which is scheduled for May 3, 2014, at Cinestudio, efforts are under way to make the event self-sustaining. "Trinity Film Festival is about so much more than screening movies," says Mason. "It's more than just the fi.lm - it's about the atmosphere, the overall experience, and the magic around the movies."
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