Three New Paltz films win big at SUNYWide Film Festival

SUNY New Paltz student filmmakers were among the prizewinners at the eighth annual SUNYWide Film Festival, which took place from Nov. 9-11 at SUNY Buffalo State.

The list of winning New Paltz filmmaking teams was headlined by the creators of “The Fierce Five Percent:  Women in the Sound Industry,” which won the award for Best Documentary. The film was produced by Digital Media & Production majors Heather Bey ’17, Matthew De Bara ’17, Ryan Kakeh ’17and Steve Wood ’17.

The Honorable Mention Documentary also came home to New Paltz. “Silver,” produced by Anna Costanza ’17, Heather Muzynski ’17, Brendan Roode ’17, Alex Connor and alumna Dany Ramdhanie ’17 (Theatre Arts).

“Silver” had previously earned an Award of Excellence at the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts in Las Vegas, Nev.

Solo filmmaker Samuel Eisenbaum ’17 was recognized for his work, “Ode to You and I,” with an Honorable Mention in the Experimental category.

A number of other films with New Paltz origins were screened at the festival, including recent Woodstock Film Festival selection “Blackbird”; “This is Where I Belong,” an Award of Excellence recipient at the summer 2017 Broadcast Education Association Super-Regional Film Festival; and documentaries “Daisy” and “The Lucky Ones.”

Visit the Department of Digital Media & Journalism online to learn more.