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News > Short Film Festival
Short Film Festival Bolsters Creative ExpressionA young college student bleeds to death after slashing her wrist in a bathroom at home. This scene was the gripping conclusion of a short psychological drama film written, directed, produced and starring students of The College of The Bahamas. 
Hundreds of students and film enthusiasts packed the auditorium of the Harry C. Moore Library for the inaugural Short Film Festival. The film captured first place at the festival over two others also created by students of The College: "Jon…John McPhee" and "Surprise". Each film production team of approximately 10 persons comprised students across a range of disciplines at The College; from business and culinary arts to education and communication & creative arts. The story line of "Jasmines" – directed by Journalism and Mass Communication majors and aspiring professional film makers Jasper Haeward and Jonathan Thompson – follows the life of a young college student as she struggles to deal with strained family relationships and faces a life threatening decision. The two also collaborated on the script writing. 
Students were content to sit on floor to screen the short films. Jonathan also felt strongly about it. "I added a lot of elements from what I knew about people who had hurt themselves and felt as though they do not want to live anymore, so this made it easier for me to write." Other students on the winning team included: Brittany Ambrister, Ricardo Wells, Kriston Saunders, Ophir Neymour, Patrick Deveaux, Alice Rolle, Valicia Rolle, Ashvin Walkes, Sarah Burnette, Kristian Duncombe, P. Giovanni Ambrister and Bianca Pople. There were three judges on the panel: Senior Deputy General Manager, Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, Mrs. Kayleaser Deveaux-Isaacs; Public Affairs Director and Executive Producer, Cable Bahamas, Dr. Keith Wisdom, and photojournalist, producer and director Mr. Donald Knowles. The judging was based on a number of key areas including: script writing; acting and directing; editing; lighting and images, camera language; audio and shot composition. "They were all good films, but the winner was very good because of two main points. Filmmaking is about story telling; the other thing is that while you are telling a story, you have to pull us in. We have to buy your story. All of them pulled us in, but when we got to Jasmines, I didn’t smell any flowers but I was almost immediately sucked in," said Dr. Wisdom. Among the prizes that the winning team of directors, actors and editors for "Jasmines" received were: a spot on the ZNS 11 and Cable 12 programming lineup; a $1,000 gift and Blackberry cellular telephones and phone cards from the Bahamas Telecommunications Company. Principal organizer of the Short Film Festival, School of Communication lecturer Mr. Hugo Zarate called it a movement that is taking shape. He said he was inspired because of the need to address social issues in the country. "There's a need to talk about the social issues in the country. Film is a positive and creative way to put the message in the street and reach those who have to hear the message. There are many ways to do it, but in our field what we do is media so this is what we do to facilitate social change," he explained. "My expectation is just one. Students should be able to see that this is not just books and classes. They have to do something with all the information and all the learning that they receive. Now they know, they can create things, develop the country, touch the community and stop complaining about the problems. They can do something about it. This is a new movement in the country." Currently, many more students of The College have an opportunity to ground their passion in film making by taking a relatively new course that The College offers in Film and Drama Studies. The recent success of the Shakespeare in Paradise theatre festival and the establishment of The College’s Repertory Theatre Company all point to significant advancements in the emergence of theatre as a culture industry. The minor allows baccalaureate degree students who are pursuing a full time degree while also studying and excelling in an art form about which they are passionate. Courses in the minor include History of Film and Race and Film: The African American Image, which require the student to ‘read’ the film, explore ideas and look at films at new ways. The College hopes to make the Film Festival an annual event.
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