Oglethorpe University students have the opportunity to participate in the third annual OU student film festival, “Last Looks,” to be held in March.
Through February 10, students are invited to submit films in four categories: narrative, documentary, experimental, and promotional. In addition, Oglethorpe’s student-led strategic communications firm the Weltner Consulting Agency is sponsoring a new film festival category, “Capturing Culture,” on behalf of a client.
This new category seeks to facilitate intercultural communication on the Oglethorpe campus and focuses on the meaning of culture and ethnicity to Oglethorpe students and the role of culture in students’ lived experiences. Prompts for this category include: What does your culture mean to you? How do you express your culture/ethnicity? How does your culture/ethnicity shape how you experience the world?
The Weltner Consulting Agency is offering a $500 first place prize, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place.
All accepted films will be screened during a March 10 red carpet event, hosted by the Weltner Consulting Agency and Oglethorpe’s Film and Media Studies and Studio Art programs. The event will be held in Oglethorpe’s Lupton Auditorium, with a reception immediately following the screenings.
The festival will welcome five leaders in the film and television industry to serve as judges.
Jeffrey Umberger is a voiceover manager with ACM Talent. He has been in the entertainment industry for 40 years, first as a film and TV actor, composer, and musician, and then on the casting, agent, and management side. Former owner and founder of Umberger Agency, Umberger is a VO industry expert, panelist, speaker, and actors advocate. He was also a voice coach for on-air talent at CNN and NPR.
Mary Grace Higgs is an Emmy-winning producer, director, and writer who has worked in the film and television industry for over 20 years. She has worked with Netflix, Food Network, HGTV, Turner, A&E and The Weather Channel. Her credits include “Herren’s: A Sweet Southern Spirit,” an Emmy-nominated documentary about the first Atlanta restaurant to integrate in the 1960s. She also produces “EcoSense for Living,” an Emmy-winning PBS documentary series. Her feature film work includes “Remember the Titans,” “Unshackled,” and “The Killer Next Door.”
Rick Estimond is president of People Store talent agency. He joined the People Store team in 2009 after graduating from Georgia State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism/public relations. In 2011, he took over People Store’s Commercial and Industrial departments and was named president in 2020.
Jane Cole is an Emmy-winning director/producer with more than 25 years’ experience in commercial, documentary, corporate and broadcast mediums. She has a passion for telling compelling stories and has worked with some of the world’s top brands, including Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, Emory Healthcare and others.
Michael Chase is an Emmy-winning director of photography and has a wide-ranging knowledge of film and video projects from inception to completion. Chase is an expert, collaborative, visual storyteller with a 25-year history in the industry.
Submissions to the Last Looks Film Festival can be made at oulastlooks.com. For questions about the contest, please contact Weltner Consulting Agency’s faculty director Dr. Kate Keib at [email protected].
