On February 12th, the second annual Elmbrook 3-Minute Film Fest was held at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center.  There were many unique films submitted to the different categories with many second-year filmmakers.  “I decided to enter the film festival because I had a ton of fun last year doing, and I knew it would be a great experience to work with Caden and Evan,” said Jonathan Harmeyer (‘23) who entered his film, The Rules of the Knife.

Although many may have seen the final films on the Black Box Youtube channel, or heard about them on the announcements, unless they attended one of the award ceremonies, they likely don’t know how it all started.  “My son, Edward Pronley, a BC Alum went to UWM and got a BFA in Film – and I watched in amazement his passion for life flourished,” said Mr. Dan Pronley, BC’s theater director.”  “I was looking for a similar forum/outlet for kids to step out of their comfort zone, get behind and in front of a camera and expand their creativity.  Knowing the cost to create a home-made short film has become affordable with the use of smartphones and laptops, I designed an innovative showcase for Elmbrook students in the 3 Minute Film Festival which is open to all ages and challenges each participants to write, direct, film and edit a 3 Minute Film.”  In the first two years that the festival has taken place, this idea has certainly been realized.  “It was lots of fun filming, editing, and creating our film, and it was even better to earn an award at a well-done ceremony,” said Susan Coakley (‘25) who entered her film, The Driver.  

Creating a finished film is much more difficult than it seems.  The directors have to develop a story, maybe write a script, find the right actors, and decide how and where they will film it.  The most difficult part can also be the time limit of three minutes; if they have lots of ideas, they might have trouble fitting it all into that time frame.  Once they’ve submitted though, no further changes can be made, which can be a problem if they experience any kind of creative perfectionism.  “I would change some lighting and sound recording techniques but that is the point of making films,” said Reihaneh Seidy (‘23), who submitted her film For Freedom.  “I learned so much from the mistakes I made in this film and I am most definitely looking forward to using what I learned to make a better film in the future.”

“I would love to participate again. Participating in art and film competitions is a great way to expand your creative and technical boundaries through experimentation,” said Eiman Mir (‘24), who entered her film, Complimentary Colors.  “In the end, I encourage others to participate as well. Not just to win, but to create something exceptional and learn something new.”