On Feb. 20, Cal State LA debuted the inaugural Best of the Fest, an event meant to showcase short films from previous film festivals and bring awareness to the 26th annual Golden Eagle Film Festival, set to take place in April. The Best of the Fest was also created as a way to give TVFM students experience in event planning, as preparation for the Golden Eagle Film Festival. Alumni were brought back to showcase their short films and participate in a Q&A session with a live audience. 

The Golden Eagle Film Festival debuted in 1999 and is a three-day event held annually to showcase short films made by current and former Cal State LA students. The Best of the Fest and Golden Eagle Film Festival provide an opportunity for students to see what their fellow classmates are working on or have worked on in the past. 

The filmmakers involved in the Q&A were Jax Nolan (no relation to Christopher Nolan), Matt Castro, and Kasey Tran. Nolan was the director of the short film “Stories To Be Told: Nancy Evans Dance Theatre,” Castro was the producer for “Crop Swap LA,” and Tran was the director for “Countdown Til Death.” 

Nolan is a director and has said her life goal is to tell women’s stories with women. This was the biggest project that she has directed to date. Prior to this film, Nolan had only directed short scenes during her time in college. Nolan’s proudest aspect about the short film is that the project was completely collaborative and the creative team didn’t butt heads in any way.

 “Collaboration is what drives the art of film,”  said Nolan. “You can’t make a movie without multiple people.”

Nolan submitted the film to last year’s festival, which won four awards: Best Director, Best Non-Fiction Short, Best Sound, and Audience Choice.

Per the logline, “Stories To Be Told: A Nancy Evans Dance Theatre” is a documentary that “introduces the world to Nancy Evans Dance Theatre, a Pasadena non-profit modern dance company that fosters diverse storytelling and creative collaboration through movement.” 

Kasey Tran’s animated film, “Countdown Til Death,” is a story about “a man stuck in a dead-end job contemplates his life and wonders if it’s too late to make a change,” according to the logline. The film is inspired by personal and other’s experiences of not having support from their parents when they decide their career choice. 

“I wanted to make a film that people can relate to and just know that they’re not alone,” said Tran. 

Bridgit Valenzuela, director for the event and Golden Eagle Film Festival, spoke about the importance of having events such as Best of the Fest that allow student to showcase their work and talk about it 

“A lot of students don’t have a platform for that, so this kind of offers them the platform to showcase it and then they can invite guests,” said Valenzuela. “They can share it with family, it’s up on a big screen.” 

The Golden Eagle Film Festival will be held from Tuesday April 22 to Thursday April 24. More details about the event to come.