I tuned in on Saturday for UVMTV’s first annual Green and Gold Globes, where six student films competed for first place. The competition, hosted by junior and this year’s president, Daisy Powers, was live-streamed via YouTube. 

Three UVMTV alumni, Rachel Malstrom ‘19, Allen Vance ‘19, and Jordan Schiller ‘20 joined as judges from their respective locations to award the first-place prize: a hard drive, the second, a phone tripod, and the third with some UVMTV merchandise. Though, nobody was really there for the prizes.

Students who entered the competition had only a few limitations: their films had to be shot only on their cellphones, and they had to be between five and eight minutes long. Other than that, they were free to do what they wanted with editing software and creative control over the topic. 

Speaking with Powers, I learned that the intention was, “to make it so everyone has the same level of film quality, so they were judged on their vidography, editing, and video content rather than the quality of their equipment.”

With the limits of a pandemic, I began to think of the possible topics of movies that students would make in the confines of Burlington. Were we going to be watching six of the same kind of film?

But I was wrong. None of the films were even close in intention and genre-specific interests. The comments section on the live stream could seem very annoying and rude at times, but there were great moments of support and surprise at the content.

Kicking off the night was sophomore Adalia Williams’ nature/essay-film “My Love Letter,” in which Williams reflected on personal thoughts, quarantine, and expressed some favorite parts of nature in the small city.

Sophomore Dominic Williams’ horror-themed “Dealing with the Devil,” was next. Beginning with a man drinking lots of beer in the woods and ending on a more bizarre note than most of the other movies, Dominic Williams aroused some suspense among the viewers.

In the third film, junior Gideon Parker’s sci-fi “The Indistinguishable Area,” a Burlington man gets an interesting call from a “Clinton-era phone,” and winds up in a strange reality where time is repeated. The editing in this film and experiment with time was interesting to watch.

Following an intermission, we learned about the personal philosophies of junior Joseph Wills in, “A Life Fulfilled.” In his submission, the filmmaker gets deep after being inspired by an author who achieved his childhood dreams. Although, Wills shows that life goals can be simple and unmaterialistic. 

Proceeding was the dreamlike drama “Respire,” by George Trafton, where through a series of long takes and internal monologue, a character deals with the internal struggle of hearing voices and his relationships, while showing off some great cinematography skills.

The last picture, and first-place winner was the comedic coming-of-age film diary of sophomore Matthew Haverty in “Or Something.” Haverty depicts moments in his dorm room that illustrate some of the facets of school and identity, told through his loose and playful outlook and likeable funny presence.

The judges awarded second place to Dominic Williams’ “Dealing with the Devil,” and third place was given to “A Life Fulfilled,” by Joseph Wills. The entire taping of the event, including each of the six films, is currently available to watch on UVMTV’s YouTube channel. 

Powers hopes that next year, UVMTV will have an in-person festival, and hopes to expand the activities and involvement. 

As president, Powers said her goals for the club are to, “Educate people about film and filming equipment, provide a platform for the student body to collaborate and express themselves through video, make people laugh, and make UVMTV a better known name on campus.”

With that said, if you’re looking for inspiration to make your own movie, UVMTV’s film festival variety is available along with their other projects on their YouTube channel, and keep an eye out for next year’s competition.