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CPELMAN CTUDENTS PREATE TILM TESTIVAL
Tre’vell Anderson
Managing Editor
Anderson .trevell@yahoo .com
Five women, five films, five stories: these six words sum up the
premise of The Shorties Film Festival, a student developed program aimed
at visualizing the experiences of students in the Atlanta University Center.
The festival, called “The Shorties” for short, “is Spelman’s first all-student
film festival.”
“The festival was birthed out of the upper level Screenwriting II
course on the campus,” Spelman senior Taylor Pettway, a psychology
major from Mobile, AF, explained. “As a collective entity, we decided
that not only did we want to film the screenplays [written in the course],
we wanted to create a space to air our films and allow writers, filmers and
viewers alike to come together for meaningful discussion surrounding life
and film. Thus, ‘The Shorties’ was born.”
Including Pettway, the other directors include Brianna Robinson, De
siree Nicole Mann, Adamma Ebo and Nina Lee, all under the advisement
of writer, professor and novelist Dr. Calaya Reid.
Robinson, a graduating senior drama major, with a costume design concen
tration, from Arlington, TX, is the director and creator of “Tonight.” Her
short chronicles “a quick visit for drinks [that] evolves into a night of se
duction, sex and life altering secrets.”
Lee is a junior at Spelman College from Atlanta, GA. Her film, “The
Brightside,” is a “short comedy exploring the relationship between two
friends as they deal with love, heartbreak, college life and how all things
can work together for a bigger, positive picture.” Considering her short
looks at a relatable theme of relationships, she hopes it can be of inspira
tion for its viewers.
“I hope after watching my short viewers will follow any dreams they
have been putting to the side as well as finding the silver lining or ‘Bright-
side’ in any situation no matter how troubling it may seem initially,” Lee
said.
Pettway’s short film is inspired by the biblical passage Acts 9:18
which reads, “Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes, and
he could see again...” Entitled “Something Like Scales Falling,” her film
looks at love and sexuality.
“[It] is a story that unearths sexuality, our motivations for denial and
the gray matter in our not-so-platonic friendships,” Pettway explained.
“There is blinding truth found when we realize that who we choose to love
isn’t always our own choice.”
Ebo, a senior English major from Atlanta, GA, is in the process of choos
ing between two screenplays she is interested in filming.
“The first one is titled ‘BFF’ and is about the complications of casual
sex in an otherwise strictly platonic relationship,” she began. “And the sec
ond is called ‘A Separation,’ which is about identical twins with Nigerian
heritage who struggle with going their separate ways after graduating from
college. The artistic twin struggles with appeasing their father’s strict ide
als of success once her sister decides to go to law school.”
Mann, a senior Fort Lauderdale, FL native and theatre major, has en
titled her short “Dangerously in Love.” Her film focuses on “a woman who
is dangerously in love, and will sacrifice and do anything for her man even
if that includes putting her own life at risk.”
The directors of these films each have a goal for participating. Over
all, however, as Pettway put it, the “hope [is] that the artists of the AUC
- whether filmmakers, actors or musicians - begin to collaborate more in
such showcases after leaving the festival.”
“The Shorties” will take place April 30, 2013 at 7 PM. Auditions to
be featured in any of the abovementioned shorts take place Wednesday,
March 27, and Thursday, March 28, from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM in LLC1.
The event is open to all AUC students and faculty as well as the outside
Atlanta community.
alumni Spotlight: Spelmanite publishes
novel One Year After graduation
Tre’vell Anderson
Managing Editor
Anderson .trevell@yahoo .com
Whoever said that you couldn’t have it all? For Spelman alumnae
Sheryl Felecia Means ’12, many have made this mistake; however, one
year after her transition into Spelman Womanhood, she can now add pub
lished author to her introduction. Released earlier this month, “Unfinished
Projects” is Means’ first major accomplishment after graduating a year
early.
“‘Unfinished Projects’ is about relationships and family dynamics,”
Means explained. “I use the Woods sisters and their loved ones to address
things that concern me. I tried to write the story from all angles; even the
characters you love to hate have a story - they’re important to understand,
too.”
A physical manifestation of issues and situations she’s observed
within her family, “Unfinished Projects” is Means’ attempt to resolve these
issues.
“The only way to find out if I was successful is to read the book for
yourself,” she encourages.
Being able to now call herself an author, Means reflected on why she chose
to write a book in the first place.
“Since I was a little girl, my mother always encouraged me to write,”
she began. “It was the one thing I knew I was good at. When I started the
book last October and finished writing by the end of the month, I said to
myself, ‘Now what?”’
“After a few people I trust read it and gave me amazing feedback, it
was just a matter of finding a publisher,” she continued. “Writing a book
was always something 1 wanted for myself so I took the initiative to make
it happen.”
This initiative is that which Means sites as how her story can be one
of inspiration to her brothers and sisters of the Atlanta University Center.
“I think the book is relevant to the AUC in a more abstract way be
cause it speaks to notion that you can literally do it all,” she emphasized.
“If you know what you want for yourself, do it. The only thing keeping
you from it is fear, but fear is an illusion. For me, as a Christian, ‘I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me’ is a reality. No one can take
away your dream. Go for it.”
As Means begins the process of small, local book tours, she is excited for
her future.
“I will definitely be publishing again,” Means reassured us. “I al
ready have something in the works. Since I like to keep my hands busy,
I’m waiting on some graduate schools to get back to me. I’ve been accept
ed to an Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation program at University
of Kentucky for my PhD, though nothing is set in stone. In any case, I just
hope graduate school doesn’t tie me up too much because I have plenty
more writing to do!”
“Unfinished Projects” is available in a paperback version online
through Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
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MARCH 29-APRIL 3, 2013