The new Real Fresh showcase and competition spotlighted the work of student documentary filmmakers from Michigan State University, Oakland University, University of Michigan, University of Windsor, and Wayne State University. Faculty representatives from each of the five schools nominated a total of 26 student films. From that group, a Freep Film Festival jury chose 10 shorts as representing some of the best documentary work from our region’s colleges.

 

There were two awards associated with Real Fresh - the Jury Award and the University Vote -- and BOTH prizes were won by "Every Color at Once," directed by FTVM major Caleb Phillip James. Caleb's tightly edited and vibrantly filmed short follows a Black muralist (Anya Potter) from Grand Rapids who reflects on her relationship with self-portraiture. Watch the award-winning film below.

"Every Color at Once," was originally created in Terri Sarris' FTVM 290 course. David Marek's FTVM 301 documentary class participated in judging this year's Real Fresh competition; the documentary projects produced in his class this term will be eligible for next year's competition.