Ten Minutes for a Shot at Cinematic Glory

This past Monday, April 21, the cream of the Friar filming crop put their efforts on display for the world and '64 Hall to view. Following in the footsteps of past Providence College cinema stars like Peter Farrelly, Rob Reiner, and Janeane Garofalo (even if she now hates PC more than your mom hates that boy band soul patch you proudly carved out), current Friar auteurs brought drama, comedy, and talent bigger than Juno's belly.

Waltz, directed by James McGehee '08, portrays the gracefully treacherous dance of college relationships. The ten-minute movie delves into a girl's problems with her roommate, all of which takes place through the lens of a voyeuristic camera, the owner of which just so happens to be the first girl's boyfriend. Waltz ends with a hurried and awkward music-less waltz between the girl and her boyfriend, a lens-less culmination of a desire for a relationship free of manipulation.

The Film Noir Project features chase scenes that seamlessly show an academically dishonest student running down a hallway in the Smith Center and finding himself opening a door out the back of Slavin. Possibly the most stellar of the performances was by coordinator of vocal studies, David Harper. Created by Matt Hassan '10 and Curtis Parvin '08, this black and white film's tone held up to its title.

The Race, involves the combined efforts of Jeff Harris '09, Chris Tompkins '09, Mike Pettinari '09 and Tommy Cheely '11 featured a tastelessly eccentric, but equally chuckle-worthy game show host who offers cash money to a group of hung-over college students. The challenge extended is a blindfolded race from Radcliffe Ave. to the Aquinas Quad. The movie got its laughs from inspiringly cheesy directing, strange visual non-sequiturs, and a convincing performance by the game show host himself.

Wet Dreams, by Colin Steele '10 and James Kimmett '10 featured the sport, the activity, the lifestyle of surfing. The film interviews both the directors and a middle-aged lifetime surfer, attempting to understand their takes on it. These interviews are spliced with surfing montages, demonstrating the activity in action.

Providing an opportunity to gain some insight into the other end of study abroad, James Kimmett's film, Global Studies, interviews three PC international students. With timely editing and smooth transition, the short was filmed on campus with casual discussion about life abroad from natives of Sweden, Nepal, and Zimbabwe. Overall, Global Studies placed third.

Nothing could make a man more vulnerable than to admit he has not only watched essentially every episode of Three's Company but also to document his trip to meet TV's favorite neighbor, Joyce DeWitt. Dan Travers' '08 inspiring docudrama, Just DeWitt, chronicles his upgrade from JRW to JDW. With clever narration culminating in DeWitt's tear-jerking/painfully conceited "follow your dreams" horse poop speech, Travers captures a moment in the basement of the Hotel Pennsylvania that Lifetime will want to run as a loop in between episodes of rape-pillage-maim-spousal-abuse-o-rama.

The most sincerely heart warming film was a documentary of the IIRI Refugee Center by Colin Steele '10 and Rachel Miller '10. Voted runner-up, the short featured the most precious little children whose parents had recently relocated from countries like Iberia to Rhode Island. Focusing on the hurdles immigrant refugees face and the services offered by Rhode Island to help them move and adjust to America, it's also filled with adorable children making silly faces and playing with video equipment.

After all the votes were tallied, it would be the efforts of Michael Pettinari '09, Tommy Cheely '11, Jeff Harris '09 and the notoriously humble Christopher Tompkins '09that were awarded first place. Aside from their mother's love, laurels include passes to the Rhode Island Film Festival and the title of reigning champions in Providence College film. Be sure to remember the unnamed suites when you go off to make more movies that give nicotine-addicted athletes more encouragement than all the Air Bud films combined.