ED RHEE Film student Peter Hunziker is
one of five UCLA finalists in the running for the Coca-Cola
Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award.
By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Contributor
In a few months, seeing a short film by a UCLA student may be as
easy as going to your local movie theater.
Four film shorts created by five UCLA film students are among
the 10 remaining entries in the final round of the Coca-Cola
Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award. The winning short will be shown
before a feature film on 12,000 screens nationwide for six to eight
weeks.
The films were funded by Coca-Cola, who gave a grant of $5,000
for the production of each entry.
“I think it offers students a chance to make films that
might not be seen if there is no money to create them,” said
Maria Perez, the Program Coordinator for Coca-Cola North America
Public Relations, in a recent phone interview.
Holden Yun Chang, Lex Halaby, Peter Hunziker, David Lederman and
Mika Walden are the students who might be the first from UCLA to
win this award along with the $10,000 prize money.
In addition, the winner will receive a VIP tour of Universal
Studios and meet with Universal Pictures’ senior-level
development, production and creative executives. Two of the three
previous winners of the award have gone on to work in the film
industry, one as a screenwriter and another as a
director/producer/screenwriter.
“This is a great opportunity,” said Lederman, a
third-year film student who became a finalist with the joint entry
he made with Halaby.
“It’s the chance to do something beneficial for my
career and something very fun,” he said.
The finalists were among more than 200 students from the film
programs of eight schools who submitted scripts and storyboards for
consideration.
Four of the other finalists are from USC, one is from
Northwestern University and one is from Florida State
University.
All submitted stories had to follow this year’s theme,
“A source of enjoyment in everyday life.” Once the
finalists were chosen, each was given a budget of $5,000 and told
to produce the short film.
According to Perez, the final candidates will be judged based on
the originality, creativity, entertainment value and quality of the
film.
Using 35 mm cameras instead of 16 mm cameras, as well as working
with more money and a larger crew than the average student film
would have, created a unique learning experience for the
finalists.
“The experience was phenomenal,” Lederman said.
“It’s rare to work on a film of this size, with the
opportunity a $5,000 budget offers. We’re using cameras film
students don’t get to use often and we had a cast and crew of
50 people.”
Hunziker, a fourth-year film student, said that producing his
short taught him what working on a self-funded student film could
not.
“It was one of the most amazing learning experiences
I’ve ever had,” he said. “(Shooting on) 35 mm is
totally different from 16 mm, which is what we shoot on as film
students.”
The new equipment and large budget forced the students to
quickly adapt to a new method of filmmaking.
“We had to do everything trial by fire,” said Chang,
a fifth-year film student. “You just learn everything on the
go. I had to teach myself everything.”
Finalists have already finished their films, and they are now
being considered by a panel of judges. The winner will be announced
at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas, held during the week of
Mar. 5.
The convention gives the winner another chance to meet with
entertainment industry professionals.
“There will be producers, directors, actors and movie
theater owners there, and the winner has a chance to mingle with
them,” Perez said. “It’s a fun networking event
that they might not have had a chance to participate in
otherwise.”
All final entries will be shown on-line at Hypnotic.com starting
in April. One film will be shown per month.
The target date for the winning film to be shown in theaters is
tentatively set for this coming April.
For the students’ film education, however, the experience
that the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award provided has
already been a valuable learning tool.
“It taught me more than any class could’ve taught
me,” Chang said. “It enhanced my experiences from
school.”
Soon, one of the four films by UCLA students might be enhancing
moviegoers’ experiences on 12,000 screens nationwide.