Author: Phillip Wachowiak

In case you haven’t heard of this wonderful (and free) 2 day event, Lightworks is the biannual film fest that showcases student films made through the Screen Arts and Cultures (SAC) department.

That being said, the norm for student film fests goes something like: most films are not immaculate, and the quality can range from good to pretty awful. Fortunately for us, U of M students consistently churn out films that are at worst watchable, and at best better than many Hollywood films (that means you, Mike Bay).

You can’t have a film event without popcorn, and the hosting Film and Video Student Association (FVSA) was happy to oblige. I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the popcorn free, but it had just the right amount of flavoring to enjoy the array of films in the Natural Science Auditorium.

This year was Nicolas Cage themed, with his image, quotes, and movies in every nook and cranny. I thought it was a step in the right direction, as it provided comic relief to the festival and helped group the films into categories roughly based on the titles of Cage films.

Last semester was a particular good stretch of Lightworks films and this semester was able to keep up the pace. I was extremely happy to see that a couple of the 300 level films (intermediate production level) were able to keep up with the higher level films. In fact one of them, Jessie Micallef’s “Between the Lines” was runner-up for best drama.

Furthermore, the independent projects truly showcased what students can do with autonomy. The winner for best drama, and my personal favorite of the festival, was Anthony Khalil’s “Old Stones.” A fictional tale about a son trying to win his father’s favor by playing shuffleboard at a retirement home, it was quirky enough to be a fresh take on the banal sports film genre.

I think the best part about “Old Stones” however, was that it never tried to be some esoteric analysis of the human condition. Unlike a lot of the upper-level projects, “Old Stones” didn’t attempt to go unnecessarily deep in the father-son relationship, nor did it waste time exploring the lead character’s fall from grace as an Olympic curler. Oh, and did I mention the gorgeous color throughout the film? Check it out.

“Cold Cut Comedy Shorts” was basically a live-action Robot Chicken. It was a delightfully incomprehensible collection of random shorts that drew laughs from the audience. The only fault with this project is that, like Robot Chicken, I was left wanting more.

Below is the list of winners from the festival. I recommend the winners from each category. However, one that didn’t even make it onto the list was Brian Collins’ horror flick “Closet,” which I was shocked to see did not even make honorable mention.