By Annie Brown and Dakota Muth, News Editors
Highbridge Film Festival carries on, even if it’s 100% online. This year, the event faced new challenges and unexpected changes, but the much-anticipated festival put on by Asbury University was a huge success, despite strange circumstances.
The production team worked tirelessly to make 2020 Highbridge one to remember. Having to host the entire event online was challenging enough, but the team was able to pull it off, putting countless hours into designing graphics, coordinating with hosts and keeping the Highbridge spirit alive.
No one person could have pulled off this year’s festival alone, much less one of the films. Some began production in the beginning of the fall semester, and each one was highly anticipated by audience members, cast and crew.
“There was so much buzz revolving around these projects. And I have to say the quality of said films did not disappoint,” said junior Jackson Wilhelmi, who starred in the Highbridge film “Owl Creek.”
In light of COVID-19, an extra submission category was added this year: the Spring 2020 Cell Phone Video Competition, where student filmmakers submitted projects that were shot and edited entirely on their cell phones within a 15-day period. The winner was senior Chad Carmack’s “Trash.”
The student films were of diverse genres, which made for an overall entertaining evening. From touching documentaries to thought-provoking action, Highbridge had it all.
“Owl Creek,” the film inspired by the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, took home four Higbridge awards, winning Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor and the prized Audience Choice award.
The film’s producer and director, junior Will Menser, said, “This was the first time I had submitted a film to Highbridge, and it was just an honor to have made the cut.”
With a tireless schedule in the midst of making “Owl Creek,” Menser said that his team was what made this film so successful.
“Everyone involved helped to elevate the story to heights higher than I could have ever hoped for it to reach,” he said.