Movie maniacs were in heaven on Oct. 16 and 17 as the Oxnard Student Digi Film Festival invaded downtown Oxnard’s Plaza Cinemas.
Many students took part in the two-day event that included workshops, contests and prizes.
“We’re extremely proud about this part of the festival,” said Kitty Merrill, festival director and Oxnard College film professor. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn about filmmaking and to meet other talented and creative people who may just help you out on your next project.”
Multiple awards were given to local independent filmmakers in appreciation for their hard work, dedication, and their ability to get their message across to the viewers.
Ernie Vasquez, Gustavo Lopez, and Christian Chavez had one of the most popular entries. The producers of the sketch comedy show “Contraband TV,” were awarded first place for Best Comedy Short. The trio later took third place for Best Comedy Short for their second episode.
“It’s a sketch comedy show, with music videos, shorts: it’s a melody of things,” said Chavez. “The point of Contraband TV is if we, any way shape or form make you feel uncomfortable I feel like we have done our job. I believe that’s the best thing that come out of the show.”
The festival ended with a bang as an after party was thrown right after the presentation of the films. The after party was held at Casa Escobar, where the viewers and the directors got a chance to enjoy free food, live music and dancing.
Merrill and her all-star crew were credited for making the event possible; the fourth successful year for the Oxnard Student Digi Film Festival.
The staff hopes to see double the results from this year for the next making that the fifth straight successful film festival in Oxnard.
“I’m looking forward to another successful year to come and hope to get more entries in,” said Merrill