Photos by Bozhidar Evtimov
The GCU Film Festival might not be as big as France’s Cannes Film Festival or the Academy Awards. But it still has a way of making Grand Canyon University students feel special, like it did for Ridger Palma, who won the Best of Fest and best comedy awards.
Palma and the other winners will get the chance to attend the renowned Sundance Film Festival for independent cinema, slated for January in Utah. The trip is made possible by a multiyear grant from the Bridges-Larson Foundation.
“This was just something I wanted to do for fun,” said Palma at the College of Arts and Media event on Thursday night in Ethington Theatre. “I love the festival, and I always like seeing the other films because it helps me want to make more.”
His film, “Robbie Le Bobbie,” earned the judges’ favor with its innovation, sentiment and humor. The plot followed two robbers coincidentally breaking into the same home and forming an unexpected friendship after both set out to steal a luxurious diamond necklace.
The robbers get in a fight, but when the homeowner returns early, they join forces to steal the necklace and disappear as fast as possible, though not without complications.
“When my cousin was little, he would call robbers ‘bobbies,’” Palma said. “It is a really obscure meaning. The title is technically French, so it’s ‘Robbie the Robber,’ but the characters are named Robbie and Bobbie, so it’s like a play on words.”
“I wanted to see if I could make a film with no dialogue and still make it funny. It was a challenge, but once we got into the groove of it, it went really well."
When sophomore Tristyn Rivera heard of the festival, she was intrigued with creating a documentary film about her family's bison business and home life on Kauai, Hawaii.
Green fields, clear blue skies and mountains were the background to Rivera’s childhood. The same background is showcased in her film, “Bison Round Up,” following her family’s project of relocating nearly 100 bison from Kauai’s North Shore to the west side.
The North Shore was home to bison, but their home was destroyed after flooding in 2018. More dry and less prone to flooding, the west side was the ideal relocation for the animals' preservation and economic state of the island.
The project took two years to plan but was executed in one day. The film shows how the moving pieces successfully intertwined.
“I was telling my uncle that I want to come and take videos for fun, and then he wanted to do the whole documentary,” Rivera said. “I am so happy I was able to do that because I am here now.
“We are very family-oriented and are a very close community. I wanted others to see that, and I really wanted to showcase my Hawaiian culture in general.”
The 10-minute video captivated the Ethington audience with immersive camera angles weaving through dirt roads, green ranches and bison herds. It paints a vivid picture of the Kauai farm lifestyle, with residents sporting cowboy boots, baseball hats, trucks and trailers. Rivera's hard work paid off when she won first place in the festival's documentary category.
GCU's student filmmakers entertained in multiple genres.
Junior Saint Lopez creates various short films, but when commercial music major Shae Dale visited his film class, asking for help to direct and produce a music video for her single, “Trust,” Lopez found the project intriguing.
“I was very welcome to just jumping in on this,” Lopez said. “You are helping bring someone else’s creativity to life, and I think that is something we don’t do enough.
“I made the music video as a class assignment, and I didn’t know it was for a student who does Spotify music on campus. It was a great opportunity, and I was all for it.”
Much to Lopez’s surprise, the music video was nominated for an Emmy in the Student Production Awards category of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Rocky Mountain Southwest region. It was also submitted on his behalf into the GCU Film Festival and the College of Arts and Media's Thursday Night Live, featuring GCU students performing and showcasing their work live.
Lopez took first place in the film festival's music video category.
The evening was a celebration of student's innovation, creative exploration and devotion to the art.
“I am really excited about the variety we have this year,” said Film Chair Lisa Tervo. “Each film is different from the other. They each came in with their own voice, their own thought of how to tell a story. It has been exciting to see the students’ personalities come through the films.”
Other GCU Film Festival winners are:
- Drama: “Anomaly” by Mitch Freeman
- Creative Exploration: “Headspace” by Brady Hayes
- Faith: “Son” by Kennedy Beckius
- Thriller: “Watch for Shadows” by Sam Jerrell and Hallie Williams
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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Related content:
GCU News: College of Arts and Media rolls out the red carpet to celebrate student films
GCU News: Lopes learn the power of film and networking at Sundance Film Festival
GCU News: Get to know GCU College of Arts and Media's chair of film
