Four students of Western Colorado Community College will be presenting their films on Oct. 6 at the Western Slope Film Festival at Avalon Theatre, with the finished products marking new territory for them.
As the first submission for the students, the excitement is palpable. Finishing their films the past May, Taylor Mahoney, Joel Cochran, Nik Linenberger and Nate Williams look forward to their chance at the big screen.
Here is a look at the four films.
Americano
Mahoney’s film, “Americano,” takes place entirely in one coffee shop, with no scene changes. This minimalism emphasizes the simplicity of the plot itself. It’s about a boyfriend and girlfriend who get in an argument when he receives a job opportunity out of state. Unsure of which decision to make, the couple finds themselves in a heated argument.
“I really wanted to write something, dialogue heavy and learn how to write actual people,” Mahoney said. “I think that’s where [my idea] really came from.”
Mahoney said that being featured at the Avalon theater is a big deal for him, and that he hopes that the festival can continue every year.
“I think the opportunity that we got is really cool for the film festival. Especially to see our films on the big screen at the Avalon. It’s a really cool theater [and it’s great] just to have public there, like to get as many people as there as possible so the festival could keep coming back every year,” Mahoney said.
Rush
Williams’ film, “Rush,” is about a guy who’s on his way to meet his girlfriend’s parents but finds himself bombarded with obstacles every step of the way. The comedic nature of the film shows the protagonist struggling through many of the nerve-wracking setbacks and frustrations that always seem to happen when the stakes are high. Williams mentioned that the idea of being at the film festival was intimidating at first, but simultaneously exciting.
“It kind of feels [like,] ‘Oh man, these are actually going to be premiered in front of that audience.’ You know, like it’s kind of that scariness,” Williams said. “But once you hear people react to it and you see people react how you want them to react to the movie, there’s kind of a feeling of relief and pride in yourself that you’ve created something that people actually enjoy.”
Caught
Linenberger’s film “Caught” follows a terrified boyfriend who has to hide from his girlfriend’s father, who comes home unexpectedly. Linenberger himself experienced something similar in the past, which was his driving inspiration behind the creation of the film.
“It was honestly the scariest moment of my life. But yeah, I’ve had that idea in my head for a while and the chance that I was able to write it and actually produce it, it was a pretty awesome experience,” Linenberger said.
The film wasn’t easy to make, but Linenberger commends his cast and crew for their hard work.
“It got very stressful near the end, especially during post production and editing like that. I think that was the most stressed I’ve ever been in my life. But the end product I was proud of,” Linenberger said.
Average Joe
Cochran’s dark comedy “Average Joe” is about a man who works an office job and is so painfully average, his life is in danger. After being diagnosed as too boring to survive, the film’s protagonist must find ways to become less average. Cochran’s film stemmed from some of his own personal experiences.
“I worked at an office job that I hated. At this point, I wasn’t in school for filmmaking, so I kind of felt that same way just working in an office job. Like I could die and nothing would be different, you know? And so it came from that feeling of being terrified and being stuck in an office job for a long time,” Cochran said.
Cochran is very excited for the Western Slope Film Festival. He said that he’s very grateful to his cast and crew for breathing life into his ideas.
“When people had that sort of outward reaction to something I had orchestrated, there’s nothing like that. It feels incredible. So I’m looking forward to that happening again,” Cochran said.
