For the first five years of the Open Frame Student Film Contest -- we relied heavily on the gracious jurying of our faithful alumni, faculty members and staff. We have always been deeply grateful for their willingness to serve current students and their films, but have also been wary in recent years of overwhelming them with so many films and a consistently short time to render their judgement.
This year we were thrilled to be able to invite a jury from outside of Malone College to give our alums a breather. These capable film, art & entertainment professionals from outside of Malone College graciously gave of their time, effort & energy to watch these student films, many offering comments and feedback for student filmmakers. Thanks Jurors! We're grateful.
This year's jury included:
Dan Kane, Entertainment Editor for the
Canton Repository. Dan's incisive and witty columns remarkably profile the best local entertainment in Stark County -- and point his readers to a much broader cultural scene nationally and internationally.
Kim Ann Pfau, directs a monthly Independent Short Film program through the Stark County Library System. Kim Ann has served for several years on the shorts selection committee for
Cleveland International Film Festival & she plans and programs many other art film, independent film and short film events for Northeast Ohio cineasts.
Robb Hankins, CEO of
ARTS IN STARK is credited by many for bringing an arts renaissance to Stark County. Hankins has mobilized artists, funding, events, space & time to create a blossoming arts community in downtown Canton, Ohio and throughout Stark County.
Connie Collins, filmmaker, has written and directed
short films that have played at regional, national and international film festivals. Connie also writes plays and wrote and directed the important documentary film,
Remember Nhu.
John K. Bucher, Jr, faculty member at the
Los Angeles Film Studies Center, is an award-winning filmmaker who has produced film, television and video programming in more than 30 countries around the world including Iraq, Mongolia, Cuba and China. His documentary work on AIDS in Africa won both Telly and Omni Awards in 2003.
Seth Thomas is our Malone College Alumni representative this year. Seth works in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, CA and continues to travel around the nation performing with a professional comedy improv troupe. Seth continues to write scripts, extending some of the talents that he demonstrated when a student at Malone, winning the BEST FILM award at multiple Open Frames.
