Southeastern students win international film awards
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
by: Tonya Lowentritt
TOP FILM AWARDS- Southeastern Louisiana University students producing films for the Southeastern Channel won top 2017 Remi Awards awards recently at North America’s longest-running film festival, the WorldFest International Film and Video Festival in Houston, Tex. Shown from left are Southeastern Channel General Manager and class instructor Rick Settoon, Mason Dauphin and Jordan Reid of Luling, Jeremy Rhodes of New Orleans, Sarah Barbier of Mandeville, and Steve Zaffuto, channel operations manager and class instructor. Winners not pictured are C.J. Love of Mandeville and Steven Farmer of Ponchatoula.
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University students at the Southeastern Channel won
four 2017 Remi Awards for three film productions at the annual WorldFest International
Film and Video Festival in Houston, Texas.
All three films were produced for the Southeastern Channel’s student film and
music video show “Cinematheque.” “The Messenger” and “Perfect,” which also won national
Videographer Awards, were produced at the Southeastern Channel for a field production
and editing class in the Department of Languages and Communication, while “Fugue”
was produced at the channel as an independent study.
“The Southeastern Channel helped me by giving me the creative freedom to pursue
the art of motion graphics,” said Mason Dauphin of Luling, who produced and edited
“The Messanger.” “Working on channel programs allowed me to learn how to hold these
professional standards for my videography, editing, motion graphics, and producing
in order to make a film capable of winning a Gold Remi.”
“The Messenger,”directed by Jordan Reid of Luling, and written by Jeremy Rhodes
of New Orleans, won a first-place Gold Remi Award in the College Level Student Film
category.
Dauphin is working as promotions producer for KLFY-TV in Lafayette, while Reid is
now news producer at KATC-TV (ABC) in Lafayette. Both studied electronic media in
the Department of Languages and Communications and graduated in May.
“Fugue,” a 30-minute film produced and directed by Sarah Barbier of Mandeville,
won a third-place Bronze Remi for Student Film, while the screenplay for “Fugue,”
written by C. J. Love of Mandeville, won a second-place Silver Remi for Student Screenplay.
“Perfect,” a music video produced and directed by Steven Farmer of Ponchatoula,
won a Bronze Remi in the Student Music Video category.
The Southeastern Channel’s four awards were the most by any undergraduate program
at the festival, which had over 4,000 entries from across the world.
As the longest-running film festival in North America, WorldFest celebrated its
50th anniversary at the 10-day event. The festival gave the first awards to renowned
filmmakers, such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, the
Coen brothers and others.
“These are top film awards won against the best college level competition from
across the world,” said Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon. “We’re
proud of our students and excited that their talent, hard work and creativity have
been honored at such a prestigious film festival. Their films are entertaining and
provocative, and won against projects with much larger budgets and production crews.”
“The Messenger” is a seven-minute comedic drama based on lead character Steven’s
quest to find love through the dating app, “Tinder.” Key plot twists allow the viewer
to see dramatic ironies unfold before the lead characters do. Both Dauphin and Rhodes
played roles in the film, along with Jasmine Jones of New Orleans. Courtney Bruno
of New Orleans assisted with the production.
In winning the award, Dauphin credited Reid’s directing and cinematography, along
with the screenplay written by Rhodes.
“Earning a Gold Remi is very gratifying,” said Reid. “The team’s hard work paid
off, and it is wonderful to be rewarded for doing something you love and working with
your best friends.”
“It’s a fantastic honor to be recognized for achieving something I’m so passionate
about,” Rhodes said. “I feel the judges saw a progressive theme to the story and reacted
to it in a positive way.”
Barbier, who won a 2015 student Emmy for directing her short film, “Emma,” created
a haunting, post-apocalyptic world with “Fugue,” a 30-minute film which she not only
produced and directed, but also shot and edited herself.
The story is a surreal battle of wits, worries and weapons in the shadow of modern
society’s collapse. It follows three people whose lives and personalities change dramatically
when society falls apart. The main character of Percy, played by M.J. Ricks of Lacombe,
stumbles through the ruins of cities and barren wilderness, scavenging for survival
and tormented by the memories of his life’s love Mary, played by Alexis Durante of
Hammond, and his best friend, Gordon, played by Logan Viverito of Gonzales. When he
seeks refuge in an abandoned warehouse, an encounter with a mysterious stranger, played
by Southeastern Theatre Director James Winter, threatens his very sanity.
“Perfect” is Farmer’s music video version of the popular song by the group One
Direction. The storyline follows three love relationships. Farmer also shot, edited
and acted in the video.
The Southeastern Channel has won over 300 awards in the past 14 years, including
15 Emmy awards and 56 Emmy nominations. The channel can be seen on Charter 199 in
Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Livingston parishes. The live 24/7 webcast and video on
demand can be seen at www.southeastern.edu/tv and on mobile devices at www.southeastern.edu/tv/live.