A film produced by students participating in a Michigan State University American Semester Program last summer has been accepted to the Made in Michigan Film Festival, which will run Feb. 3-5 in Frankenmuth.
In July, eight students from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and the IESEG School of Management in Paris, spent three weeks on campus studying filmmaking through the Department of Media & Information’s “Lights, Camera, Action!” course.
“The Department of Media and Information has been a leader in enacting our institution’s world grant vision,” said Constantinos Coursaris, the lead administrator for ASP programs offered by the department. “American Semester Programs enable students from around the world to acquire a short-term educational experience at MSU, often leading to interest in returning to MSU on a full-time basis.”
While students created and produced the film, titled, “UNQUIET,” faculty helped them create a professional film look, said Troy Hale, professor of practice and lead instructor for the program.
The goal was to get the film into festivals, showcases and in front of audiences, he said. Students made film posters, created press packets and sent out the films to festivals.
“It is always amazing to be accepted into a film festival,” Hale said. “That shows that others value the film that was produced. This also brings the film beyond just a class experiment. It is actually a ‘real’ film project that will be shown in a theater.”
Hale and his students are waiting to hear whether a second film, “Miss Understood,” has been accepted into any film festivals.