Westmont College launches first ever Montecito Student Film Festival

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— Westmont College launched its first ever Montecito Student Film Festival on Saturday.  
 
“We can see what the future of filmmaking is going to look like,” said Student Film Festival Executive Producer Bailey Lemmon.
 
Cinephiles gathered together at Westmont College’s Porter Theater to watch the short films made by California college students. 
 
“We have such a wide variety of documentaries and narrative dramas and animation,” said Lemmon.
 
This senior Westmont student has been working with her peers to get this off the ground since last fall.  
 
“We’re all passionate about seeing students get their films represented in front of audiences and seeing it on a big screen, giving them a confidence boost to continue to make stories that they want told,” said Lemmon.
 
A jury of industry professionals and special guests judged close to 20 films throughout the day. 
 
This provided an important opportunity for up and coming student filmmakers to learn from their more established predecessors. 
 
“Watching your own film be screened and watching somebody appreciate it for what it is even if it doesn't have $100 million explosions or Oscar winning actors in, it is just really important for a filmmaker’s psyche,” said Student Film Festival Executive Producer Wesley Yowell.
  
“Film reflects life and the messiness and the chaos and the beauty of it. And by reflecting that, we can gain new insights and relate to each other better by understanding each other's stories,” said Student Film Festival Executive Producer Grace Redford.
 
The students hope that this festival will be the start of an annual tradition for years to come.  

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