By Oliver Wan (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) The course “Film Festival Studies” led by Professor Cavallero was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. As an Environmental Studies major that only minored in Film Studies, I felt somewhat underprepared for the course. In all honesty, I had little to no idea what a film festival even was! I was …
By Gene Chen (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) In 2022, one of the most exciting additions to the Bates Film Festival was our partnership with Neon, a leading production and distribution company renowned for its involvement in some of today’s most refreshing and exciting independent films. The partnership with Neon led to BFF screenings of three remarkable movies: The …
By Audrey Soss (BFF 2022) As bell hooks states in the introduction to her book Reel to Real, “Whether we like it or not, cinema assumes a pedagogical role in the lives of many people. It may not be the intent of a filmmaker to teach audiences anything, but that does not mean lessons are not learned” (2). Although the …
By Rabih Chughtai (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2023) Many of the most established filmmakers in the world, including George Lucas, Damien Chazelle, Wes Anderson, and Sofia Coppola, got their start in short films. Short films are particularly significant for us at the Bates Film Festival because they tend to be made for the festival circuit, not for wide release …
By Amanda Metzger (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) When we began creating this film festival, I had many expectations for what it would look like and what our tasks would be. Reading the syllabus at first felt overwhelming! Not only were there several pages worth of mini assignments, but we were also expected to watch all these films, reach …
By Max Younger (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) For the 2022 iteration of the Bates Film Festival, one of our primary goals was to rework our mission statement. Before our revisions, the statement was lengthy, spanning two paragraphs and covering an array of subjects. As a class, we discussed what we wanted this festival to be and ultimately settled …
By Cole De Magistras (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2024) The 2022 Bates Film Festival (BFF) was an experience unlike any other. When I sent in my petition to join Professor Cavallero’s “Film Festival Studies” seminar, I was unaware of the true nature of the endeavor I was about to undertake. After my acceptance into the class, I was declared …
By Jonathan J. Cavallero, Bates Film Festival Founding Director Two days before the start of the 2022 Bates Film Festival, we received some devastating news. Santo Pelletier, a BFF board member in 2019, had passed away at the age of 23. We dedicated the program to them, and I made mention of their loss at the first screening but neither …
By Tristan Van Rooden (BFF 2019, Bates Class of 2020) Being a part of the festival board for the 2019 Bates Film Festival has without a doubt been one of the most fulfilling experiences that I have had throughout my time as a student both at Bates and in high school. The ability to experience so much of how a …
By Drew Collins (BFF 2019, Bates Class of 2020) I was lucky to be one of the 22 students on the board for the 2019 Bates Film Festival. But, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I sat down on the first day of the Fall Semester. From the moment I stepped into the room on …