News in Brief: Student Film Festival Returns After Four-Year Hiatus

Student filmmakers from across the country will have the chance to walk the red carpet April 6 at the Paramount Theater on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. 

After a four-year hiatus, the Virginia Student Film Festival is making a return. A student group at the University of Virginia, the Filmmakers Society, has revived the festival.

“What’s so beautiful about student short films is that they have the freedom to make whatever they want. They’re not bogged down by what production houses say about what sells,” said Ansh Pathapadu, the group’s president.

Pathapadu and a committee of 14 other film-loving Hoos put out a call for submissions and received roughly eight hours of student films, which they culled to about three hours.

The Jefferson Trust and UVA Student Council sponsor the festival with additional support from UVA Arts and the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts. The Virginia Film Office and UVA Arts Council: Enriching the Arts on Grounds also endorsed the event.

Interested in checking out the student films? See the festival’s schedule below. You can register for the festival by visiting the event website.

•           11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Screening No. 1

•           2-3:30 p.m.: Screening No. 2

•           6 p.m.: Red carpet event with a live band and concessions

•           7-7:20 p.m.: Filmmaker Q&A panel

•           7:30-9 p.m.: Award show featuring cash prizes and trophies, with a halftime performance from UVA a cappella group the Hullabahoos

Media Contact

Alice Berry

University News Associate Office of University Communications