Two UOG student films win awards among 1,700 entrants
鈥淟eft on Read,鈥 a film directed by UOG student Keanno Fausto, and 鈥淭he Passenger,鈥 a film directed by UOG student Stephanie Smith, won Awards of Excellence in the 2020 Festival of Media Arts by the Broadcast Association Education.
Two films written and directed by 91快播 communications students have won awards among 1,750 entries in the Festival of Media Arts by the Broadcast Education Association. The UOG students are among 368 awardees who will be recognized and whose videos will be available to view at the BEA2020 convention, which will take place virtually this weekend.
The two original screenplays 鈥 鈥淭he Passenger,鈥 directed by Stephanie Smith and co-written by Keanno Fausto and Bradley Bartonico, and 鈥淟eft on Read,鈥 directed by Fausto and co-written by Kiana Brown and Brandon Cruz 鈥 were written for a film criticism course taught by Associate Professor Raymond Anderson and then adapted to film for an independent filmmaking class taught by instructor Kel Muna.
鈥淭his is UOG鈥檚 first time winning this student award, and to have two get recognized I think is outstanding,鈥 Anderson said.
The festival is an internationally judged exhibition of faculty and student work with entrants this year from more than 300 universities nationwide. The UOG student films both won as narrative works.
鈥淭he Passenger鈥 is about a rideshare driver giving a ride to a distraught and mysterious passenger, and 鈥淟eft on Read鈥 follows 17-year-old Sirena Perez as she deals with 鈥渙ffline drama while trying to maintain her life online.鈥
Fausto said the two films would not have been possible without the instruction he and his classmates received in their film classes. He said they learned screenwriting, filming, editing, and exhibition as well as how to use camera equipment and software.
鈥淟eft on Read鈥 has also been awarded locally 鈥 winning the 鈥Best Made in the Marianas鈥 award at the Guam International Film Festival in October and two awards at the UOG Film Festival last May.
Fausto, a senior communications major specializing in mass media and journalism and minoring in psychology, said he hopes to pursue a career as a filmmaker and continue to tell meaningful stories inspired by his own life and the island of Guam.
The films are viewable at .