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Walking into the commons of our school, you notice something that is very different- to your left is a red carpet, kids are running around in suits and dresses. A crowd of family, friends, and students are all here to see this event: Films On A Shoe String or better known as FOASS.
FOASS is a student ran film festival headed by T.V. advisor Brenden Gallagher with T.V. students from T.V. 1 to 3. Everyone packed into our round house; 150 took the available seats while the rest sat on the floor. It was the biggest show Fossil has put on to date and the panel of judges were nothing short of talent.
The judges included Bryan Boorujy, a director and producer for the International Rachel’s Challenge program, Denise Freestone, the co-founder of Fort Collins’ Open Stage, Hanna Bjorklund, an Alumni who is currently studying at Red42 school of film, and Mitch Carnahan who was TV 1’s student teacher last semester.
The lights dimmed, to guide the audience through the night was Taylor Ault and Kat Bugarin, T.V. 3 students. Ridge T.V. is a weekly show put on by the T.V. students that promote clubs, reveal segments, and take inspiration from a variety of popular film or television introductions. Five segments were shown, including our Homecoming reveal and the Wes Anderson introduction. Taking first place was the Wes Anderson Intro, and in second place was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Intro, which will be premiering to the school on the next episode of Ridge TV.
During the festival, to have audience interaction, comment cards were handed out to each guest attending . The lights came on after every film and that is when you heard the paper rustle and pens moving. People were talking about the films they just watched with the person next to them.
In the weeks of preparation before the festival, posters of some films were hung around the school to promote the student body. One of the posters had a picture of our past student Andrew Conrad. Legacy of Love touched everyone in the audience had was very emotional-in a good way. The 20 minute (shorter version) film spoke of Conrad in a new light that no one else has seen yet. Noah Clark took on this project last year as a short, memorial video for friends and family but it turned into a longer, full length documentary. Clark’s documentary took first at the festival.
Another documentary that premiered at the festival was Bailey Gannett and Olivia Jones’ shortened version of How They Live. Jones and Gannett asked interviewees from all ages the question: what is the meaning of life? The eye-opening piece included the not so typical answer and gave insight into how each person can agree on happiness but in a different way.
The first short film, “The Flapper,” a period piece silent film won best production design. Without one word spoken, the cinematography and the movements of the actors took over and told a story of girl and boy, just wanting to dance.
“For Esmé – With Love and Squalor,” was another period piece drama directed by senior Julia Passantino. This film was adapted from the short story by J.D. Salinger. The short film won best supporting actress by Rachel Goth and best makeup, done by Elyse Raisley and Gianna Licata. Chris Goodwin, captured the struggle of post-traumatic stress disorder ingeniously with his character Sergeant X.
The next two films, “Tinkle 2” and “Cold, Alone, Taken” both take on the suspenseful and comedic theme and the crowd got caught up in laughs. “Tinkle 2” starring senior Tomas Muelling is a sequel to the previous year people’s choice winner. Even though the short didn’t make people’s choice again this year, the crowd lit up in the entire eight minute duration. “Cold, Alone, Taken” is directed by Bridger Kelly and it seemed to take inspiration from the ever so popular online horror game “Slenderman.”
“Dreamer,” winner of people’s choice, best actress by senior Shannon Malloy, best screenplay by Noah Clark and Kyle Homan, best cinematography, best sound design, best director, and best production. The crew definitely stole the night with all these awards, and the short film was overall really good. The lighting highlighted every aspect of the film, Malloy wonderfully portrayed a girl with an overwhelming sickness who only wanted to live out her dreams. The first screenplay, originally written by Clark was close to 40 pages but it was limited to a 22 minute that did nothing but get an entire crowd standing ovation.
The next two pieces were “Out of Order” a suspenseful silent film and “Sins” an obscure horror film. “Out of Order” tackled the concept of OCD and the suspense that comes from a boy thinking he is being followed. “Sins” starring senior Peter Muelling is about a high school boy just wanting to hang out with his friend from class but then gets rejected by Dustin Mckeen and Chris Goodwin’s character. Muelling’s character seems to have a double personality and he takes out his anger on the kids who rejected him against his own will.
The last film of the night was “Tribby” a thought-provoking drama by Jon Galliano and Zachery Braden starring Matt Harpel and Cali Pastor. The thing that grabs your attention with this particular film is the smooth and beautifully done editing and acting. The story behind this film was that Tribby’s records were his everything and he had never met anyone quite the same until he meets Rachel. This film won best actor but was a runner up in best editing and best production. The film was set apart from all the others because of the concept. There was no sickness or disorder, it was just about music and it’s connection to people.
This year’s Film On A Shoe String set the bar very high for the program. The program because of the turnout and the films that came out gained a new light. Even though the festival ended on a very late night, everyone who was there had one shared purpose: to enjoy talent from the young minds put into video and shared with people who would really never watch short films.
To watch all the short films and segments showcased, click here for the playlist: FOASS 2015
