Through the Student Lens: Colorado State University Student Film Festival

Call for submissions! In celebration of Colorado State University student and alumni films, we are thrilled to announce the inaugural Through the Student Lens: Colorado State University Film Festival. This event is supported by ACT Human Rights Film Festival as part of our fifth anniversary celebration.

Through the Student Lens looking for documentaries, short films, animated films, personal narratives, experimental work, and any combination of these. The themes and topics for this film festival can revolve around identity, race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, LGBTQ, immigration, trauma, mental health, the environment, technology, the internet, and anything else you think would fit within these topics. There is no restriction on content, and we are open to any form of self-expression via film media that expresses your world-view.

Rules and guidelines:

1. You must be a current Colorado State University (CSU) student, CSU alumni, or the film must be a collaboration with a CSU student or alumni. Proof of CSU affiliation will be requested.

2. Submission is free.

3. You can submit up to 3 films.

4. Length of work must be between 30 seconds and 10 minutes including credits (no exceptions)

5. Format must be mp4 or mov

6. Please include the title of your film, the date it was completed, the length, credits and a synopsis. Excluding these may result in your film be disqualified.

7. We are only accepting films that were completed after January 2017 up to the present

8. Submissions with dialogue in languages other than English MUST be subtitled in English

9. Entrant MUST upload their films to FilmFreeway’s site

Save the date, the premiere screening will be March 26, 2020.

Email studentlens@actfilmfest.org with questions.

Through the Student Lens Team:

Usama Alshaibi, Program Director

Visiting Professor of Film in the Department of Communication Studies. Usama Alshaibi is an active filmmaker, with several short films, documentaries and feature films to his credit. His films have premiered on the Sundance Channel, PBS, and other television stations and film festivals across the globe.

Lauryn Ritchie, Student Programmer

Lauryn is a Journalism & Media Communications major at CSU concentrating in video production and minority representation in mass-media. She is an FAA certified drone pilot with 8+ years of experience working in film production, specifically video editing. Lauryn helps create 5+ videos a week for projects such as promotional content for CSU and a local Emmy award-winning studio, a feature-length film, and much more.

Beth Seymour, Managing Director, ACT Human Rights Film Festival

Beth oversees all ACT Human Rights Film Festival programs. Her professional background comprises nonprofit fundraising and operations. Prior to moving to Fort Collins in 2018, Beth sat on the board of Rocky Mountain Women’s Film and chaired the board of Imagination Celebration, both located in Colorado Springs.