Jenna Bacon, Campus Carrier arts and living editor

Ali Luciani, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor

This past weekend, Rome hosted the annual Rome International Film Festival (RIFF).  The event brought filmmakers, actors and movie fans to the city for a celebration of film and storytelling. Screenings took place across multiple venues downtown, including the DeSoto Theatre and the Rome Area History Center. Audiences could attend panels, red carpet premieres and Q&A sessions with directors. 

Sophomore Savannah Talley participated in RIFF’s local college shorts panel discussion after her team’s short film project, “#CRUNK” was selected for screening. 

“#CRUNK”  is one of the short films that came out of Vikings Fusion’s  48-hour Film Challenge this year. The challenge gives students just two days to write, shoot and edit a complete short film, which is then screened and evaluated by a panel of judges as well as their peers.

The film won first place in the short film fiction category at the National Student Production Awards and received an honorable mention for Best Creative Film in Division II, Division III and two-year colleges at the College Media Association (CMA) Pinnacle Awards. 

The decision to enter “#CRUNK” into RIFF came from the film’s director, Berry alunmus Joey Fletcher (25C).

“After we finished it and received the awards from Fusion, everyone was like, ‘Oh, okay, good. That was great,’ and ready to move on,” Talley said. “But Joey was the one who said, ‘No, we’re going to submit it to film festivals.’”

During the panel, Talley acted as a spokesperson for her team by sitting on stage and fielding the moderator’s questions. 

“They asked what drew me to film, and I answered as genuinely as I could,” Talley said. “People were cheering for my responses, which felt surreal. We also got to talk about what went on behind the scenes, the creative thought process and how our approaches differed.”

Georgia Highlands student Darlyn Morales-Cifuentes shared a different but equally busy RIFF experience behind the scenes. She first attended RIFF four years ago in high school to watch a class on how to create horror movies. The next year, she attended as a PAM Studios employee to watch a panel of Latino filmmakers speak about their experiences within the industry. 

“That’s really where I started to fall in love with the festival and all the opportunities it offered,” Morales-Cifuentes said. “Last year, I was the venue manager for PAM Studios, which gave me the chance to meet a lot of people and make meaningful connections.”  

With the encouragement of her professor Seth Ingram, creative director of RIFF and chair of film studies in the humanities division at Georgia Highlands College, Morales-Cifuentes took on major responsibilities in media production this year.

“I’ve been running around a lot more,” Morales-Cifuentes said. “I’m officially the digital imaging technician and an editor, so I manage the archive of footage from our videographers and edit it into reels. I also started moderating panels last year, where I get to interview the filmmakers so that’s been a really fun and new experience for me.”

Morales-Cifuentes was actually the person who moderated the college shorts discussion panel that Talley participated in. According to Morales-Cifuentes, one of the things she discovered at RIFF this year was how much she enjoyed speaking with and interviewing filmmakers about their work. 

“Honestly, on stage I did have an issue where I would get so locked into [the participant’s] answers that I forgot I was a moderator,” Morales-Cifuentes said. “So by the time they turned it back to me, my brain was like ‘Oh, I’m supposed to ask the next question’.”

RIFF Producer Katie Weatherford shared what makes the festival such a special experience for those involved in the film industry.

“I think that is the real beauty of the Rome International Film Festival, as we offer platforms for people to make connections,” Weatherford said. 

Weatherford also had a message for those who aren’t in the film industry, but are still intrigued by the process of film creation. 

“If you love a good film, even if you’re not in the industry or pursuing it as a career, you should come to RIFF,” Weatherford said. “It’s a celebration of all kinds of art, and art is for everyone, not just artists.”