WKU News

WKU Film celebrates student work with a lineup of films and research projects from the year and a special screening of WKU alum and screenwriter Jack Bryant’s feature film Fair Haven. 

The festival begins at 1 p.m. Saturday (May 6) in the Mass Media Technology Hall auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.  

“For a lot of us, this showcase will be our directorial debut, and we’ve worked very hard this semester to make it worthwhile,” said Tori Mills, film sophomore and director of the short An Adjustment. “Filmmaking is my dream, and I am incredibly excited to experience my first premiere.”

The festival kicks off at 1 p.m. with a conference panel of film research presentations by WKU Honors students and current candidates in the English department’s M.A. and M.F.A. programs. Following the panel, Bryant and television writer Michael Edens, whose credits include episodes of Young Hercules, Avengers: United We Stand, and Beetlejuice: The Animated Series, will host a screenwriting workshop for the WKU and Bowling Green communities.

Events will continue with a screening of Fair Haven at 3:30 p.m. Written by Bryant and featuring The Dukes of Hazzard and Longmire star Tom Wopat, the film follows a young man’s return to his family farm after a long stay in ex-gay conversion therapy, who is torn between the expectations of his emotionally distant father, and the memories of a past, loving relationship he has tried to bury. Following Bryant’s Q&A, the festival will showcase WKU student films beginning at 7 p.m.

“This year, I’ll have four films being showcased that I worked on for a considerable amount of time,” said film senior Jacob Anderson. “I’m excited to see my projects as well as the many projects of my fellow peers.”

Contact: Dr. Jerod Ra’Del Hollyfield, (270) 745-3242 or jerod.hollyfield@wku.edu