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Combining passion and filmmaking at the ASU Fall Film Capstone Showcase

Senior film students will screen various types of films for the community to view Friday

Fernando Padrón Filming

Fernando Padrón and his production crew filming his movie "QUEEN." The film will be screened at the ASU Fall Film Capstone.


On Friday night the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse will be screening the films of this year's graduating film seniors to approximately 250 audience members at ASU.

The ASU Fall Film Capstone Showcase began in 2014 when Associate Professor C.A. Griffith introduced the event as an opportunity for students to display their films with the collaboration of faculty members. In 2015, she had the idea to integrate screenwriters into the showcase.

“The ASU Film Capstone Showcase is a faculty curated showcase that presents films of high artistic merit as part of the ASU School of Film, Dance and Theatre’s MainStage series,” Griffith said.

Not all senior film students have the opportunity to have their films presented during the showcase. Students must be asked by the Film Capstone Showcase Jury to have their work presented. The jury reviews film submissions from not only film and media production majors but from all graduating film majors.

“All the completed capstone projects are shown at an invitation only screening,” Griffith said. “Students submit their work to the Capstone Showcase Jury, usually by week 12 or 13 of the semester. The Jury meets, watches, evaluates, discusses and votes on the submissions and possible awards.”

Unlike many other film festivals or competitions, the ASU Film Capstone Showcase focuses on presenting the content made by students rather than giving out prizes. 

“The ASU Capstone Film Showcase is not a competitive program with traditional prizes such as Best Film, but an exhibition of films that the School of Film, Dance and Theatre is proud to screen at the end of each semester,” Griffith said.

While screenwriters and filmmakers have their films presented, many other students have assisted with the process of the filmmaking as well.

“Dozens of students give literally hundreds of hours throughout many stages of production: conceptualization, pre-production, including designing and launching crowd-funding sites, production, post-production, marketing and distribution for each of these projects,” Griffith said.

Chris LaMont, the Film Area Coordinator, works with the screening process, submissions, The Jury, and the marketing for the program. His involvement within the showcase allows students to have an opportunity to finally have their content viewed by others.

“You can't be a successful filmmaker unless you are able to show your films to an audience and they get to experience the film,” LaMont said.

The films that will be shown range from many different genres that will appeal to various viewers.

“There are all varieties of films being screened: comedy, drama, documentary, satire, everything for an audience to enjoy,” LaMont said.

One of the films being screened at the showcase will be by Fernando Padrón. Padrón is a graduating senior that is majoring in Film and Media Production with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. His film "QUEEN" follows the journey of a drag queen who is in need of money in order to bring back her deported mother to the United States.

For Padrón and many other students involved with the showcase, the process of creating and submitting a film to be shown at the ASU Film Capstone Showcase was extensive.

“FMP (Film and Media Production) students have to work on a capstone project for two semesters," Padrón said. "We start by writing out (our) own scripts and rewriting them about 20 times until we have the perfect script. Then we have to find crew, talent, funds, locations, permits, etc. After shooting it we work on the editing, which I finished last week. Then the films are submitted to the capstone jury, who will decide whether it will be shown on Friday or not.”

Padrón said all the time and effort put into the production was worth it. The ASU Film Capstone Showcase enabled him to spread the message out about issues he is passionate about, as well as combine his talent of filmmaking.

“I think the Capstone is the perfect place to display our work,” Padrón said. “We want this story to be heard. I am personally very close to this story. As an immigrant and member of the LGBTQ community, I want others to see what some of the people in these communities have to go through every day.”

To see Padrón’s and many other ASU seniors’ films, click here to purchase tickets for the ASU Film Capstone Showcase that will be taking place on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.


Reach the reporter at mmbaiett@asu.edu or follow @marcellabaietto on Twitter.

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