VMP Second Annual Student Filmfest – Winners Announced!

Building from our inaugural Film Fest momentum from last year, this year’s competition was open to even more of Florida’s universities: Valencia College, the University of Central Florida, Seminole State College, Daytona State College, Full Sail University, the University of South Florida, Ringling College of Art and Design, Florida State, and the University of Tampa

We received numerous entries to our second annual VMP Student Filmfest from all eligible schools. Our filmfest judges scored all films through a criteria based around 5 main areas: Story, Editing, Cinematography, Directing, and Sound Design.

See our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners below, along with photos, and direct links to their winning films!

Video Production Company Orlando - 2nd Annual Student Filmfest

1st Place Prize Winner

Our top pick for this years VMP Student Filmfest was a close call, but in the end it came down to “Eggead and Twinkie” (Directed by Sarah Holland, UCF).
This quirky comedy explores the experiences of two young adults after one casually reveals her homosexuality. Immediately apparent was the film’s gripping style.

The vibrant tones, swift cuts, and memory narration spliced with contemporaneous interaction felt reminiscent of cult hits like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World or Shaun of the Dead. Egghead & Twinkie had our judges charmed from start to finish, and they were honored to have experienced the beginning of what is sure to be a successful film career for Holland and crew.

Learn more about their film here: “Egghead & Twinkie”

Interview with Director, (Sarah Holland – UCF) Filmed at VMP’s Newly Expanded Studio in Winter Park, FL

VMP STUDENT FILMFEST WINNER

2nd Place Winner from Full Sail (Sidartha Biswa) – “A Girl in Kansas”

Second place went to A Girl in Kansas, a horror short directed by Sidartha Biswa and starring Jennifer Utsey and Dennis Frebie from Full Sail University. The film centers around a young woman aimlessly walking a lonely road on a stormy night and a good Samaritan with questionable motives. Throughout the short, the audience is left guessing as to why this woman was walking in the rain alone, and what exactly the man helping her is hiding.

Watch their film here: “A Girl In Kansas” – Full Sail University

3rd Place Winner from UCF (Abiesel Baez & Kahlil Collazo) “PLUGGED”

Third Place - UCF (2nd Annual Student Filmfest)

The third prize was awarded to PLUGGED, written and directed by Abiesel Baez & Kahlil Collazo and starring Humberto Gal’lino. In a future not too far from our present, a dating app leads one hesitant man through a mind-altering experience. The electric soundtrack pulls the audience into the scene from the start and compels the viewer’s eyes to the screen as they wait for the next story beat. The coordination of the nearly 2-minute continuous shot leading up to a shocking cut was indicative of the effort Baez and his team poured into their project.

Watch their film here: “PLUGGED” – University of Central Florida

Additional Interview Q&A from press:

Why does Vibrant Media Productions put on this film festival?

There are so many creative young students out there who possess incredible talent for visual storytelling. We wanted to build a platform for them to showcase their capabilities while also helping them gain both recognition and rewards for their efforts.

Through healthy competition, our film festival hopes to inspire these students to produce amazing content by tapping the unlimited potential inside each of them. Based on the submissions we’ve seen over the past two years, we feel we’ve been successful in this regard.

Published articles on 125+ News Outlets Via PRweb

Film students win in second annual (UCF) Vibrant Media Film Festival

Published article in UCF Newsroom (College of Humanities)

What is your favorite part about having this competition?

It’s definitely seeing the culmination of each student’s hard work. This was only our second-annual film festival, but we were absolutely blown away by how the submissions raised the bar this year, especially by the students from UCF, who represent a majority of this year’s winning entries.

The production value, originality, and attention-to-detail that their works exhibited was indicative of a promising future for so many of these aspiring professionals. On the other side of that coin, though, having so many outstanding submissions made the judging process extremely difficult. Nevertheless, that’s what keeps a competition interesting.

VMP - Orlando Video Production

Published article in UCF Newsroom (Nicholson School of Communication and Media)

What are some characteristics that make films stand out against others?


We judge entries using four specific parameters: directing, editing, story, and sound design. Submissions can score a maximum of 5 points in each category. That being said, there are certain “intangibles” that each entry can present that will leave an impression on us during the judging process. It’s sort of like earning extra credit on a book report or quiz. When we sit down to judge these submissions, we are sometimes stunned by how clearly the student went above and beyond in creating a masterfully woven narrative.
For example, a piece stands apart from its competition when it manages to draw inspiration from other iconic pictures without being derivative. This shows that the student is able to not only recognize the components of other great works of film, but that they can also use those pieces to creatively construct something new and wholly their own. We feel that the winning entries this year have each managed to demonstrate distinction in this way.

Student Filmfest Judges:

Alex is the founder of Vibrant Media Productions. He is passionate about helping businesses succeed through producing visually stunning imagery that tells their unique stories.

Chris has many years of experience in the video production industry. He has produced content for many of VMP’s clients such as Microsoft, Twitter and Bayer Pharmaceuticals.

Reuben has taught at the University of Central Florida as well as Full Sail University. He has also produced documentary film projects all over the world, most recently in India.

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Eligible Schools:

VMP-Filmfest-Shools

We could not have been more pleased with each student who rose to the challenge this year and made the second annual Film Fest an incredible success. The submissions sent in shined a light on the enormous potential of these aspiring young filmmakers.

Our team is excited to see what types of films are submitted next year, as we hope to make our student film fest even bigger and better!

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