San Joaquin Film Society featured four short movies produced by Delta’s RTV students during the organization’s 4th San Joaquin International Film Festival on March 20. The movies – “Blur,” “Lockdown,” “Illusia,” and a 30-minute preview of “Broadcasting Sunshine” – were part of the festival’s “Delta Day” program held in the Tillie Lewis Theatre.
“The goal for these students is to pick up momentum for future film festivals. As a filmmaker, it’s best to try to get as many people to watch your film,” said SJFS Board Member Shane Williamson. “I think the event went amazing today. The amount of support was outstanding and it was an honor to include Delta’s program to inspire future filmmakers.”
The main attraction of the event was the 30-minute preview of “Broadcasting Sunshine.”
The movie is a collaborative effort of more than one hundred students over the course of two years.
The movie centers on radio DJ Sue Del Sol, played by current Delta student Curissa Mitchell, and the misadventures of her first day hosting the station’s morning drive show.
RTV instructor William Story said, “The whole purpose for Broadcasting Sunshine is for these students to learn how to put together a movie first hand and they did.”
Fantasy adventure movie “Illusia” is written and directed by student Curtis Wilson.
Wilson said inspiration for the movie came from a dream he had that was similar to “The Wizard of Oz.” The 30-minute feature received high praise from the audience for its use of special effects and storytelling.
“Lockdown” is a dramatic telling of a school shooting written and directed by students Carla Jara and Nik Castanon. The movie was screened two days prior as part of SJIFF’s “Teen Truth” program at the Empire Theatre.
“Blur” is the product of a collaborative effort from members of the other three movies. The team traveled north to participate in the Sacramento International Film Festival’s 48-hour film competition. In two days, the group wrote, shot and edited a short film from scratch.
“It was a struggle to complete a movie in two days after working on a movie that took two years,” said student Manuel Garcia.
Story said, “I’m satisfied that these young filmmakers had their afternoon to exhibit their best work.”
The RTV program plans on debuting the full-length, final version of “Broadcasting Sunshine” May 21.
It will be the main attraction to the department’s annual Media Fest, a full-day event exhibiting the work of students studying in the video production, graphic design, photography and journalism programs.