A shot from Ryan Glenn's “Funny Meeting You Here”
Those looking to catch the best and brightest young filmmakers in Tucson should be delighted to sit in the historic Fox Theatre (17 W. Congress St.), for free, on May 15 at 7pm.
“I Dream in Widescreen: BFA Thesis Films from the School of Media Arts” returns once again, with this year’s festival boasting dramatic fiction films with a variety of themes such as love stories, bitter breakups, destructive lifestyles, outlaws and strange torments as well as documentaries that display family issues.
The event is the culmination of years of hard work involved from the students and faculty members of the program, and the students with the best received films could go on to festivals around the world to further show off their talents in film.
“The work this year is exceptionally bold and exciting,” said Associate Professor Yuri Makino, the instructor of the year-long BFA Senior Thesis course.
The annual event not only serves as a celebration of the UA’s upcoming filmmakers, but also acts as a celebration of Tucson, with many of the filmmakers using Tucson locals in their productions.
“It’s a very emotional kind of high drama kind of thing,” said Eren McGinnis, a spokesperson for the event, “It’s a big celebration of the community as we use all sorts of people from Tucson. It’s a really cool community type event.
“I cast some local celebrities for my film,” said featured filmmaker Ryan Glenn, “God is actually played by God, who owns the Meet Rack.”
Glenn’s film Funny Meeting You Here has received quite a deal of hype; it details an apocalyptic scenario in which God has been kidnapped by a militia group and is up for public execution while an interesting array of characters await the inevitable end of the world on Earth.
The film took around nine months to make, according to Glenn. Glenn, who is an atheist, said he liked the idea of apocalypse scenarios, and imagined one in which he believed in God.
The screenings run from 7pm to 9:30pm. Facebook: I Dream in Widescreen for a list of filmmakers.
