Join Urban Video Project for a screening of film shorts from Horizons 2021: New Film Out of Central New York award recipients!  This one-night showcase highlights films by 2020 CNY Film Short Competition winners, including Derrick Benton, Victoria Diana,  Jane Bella Kharkover, and Andrew Nimetz.

The community-night program is part of UVP’s continued commitment to collaboration with regional partners. The CNY Short Film Competition is a juried program administered by the Innovation Group of CNY Arts, which supports promising young filmmakers who have recently graduated from an accredited film or media program in the Central New York region. By drawing upon the region’s unique cultural and geographic characteristics, winning filmmakers explore a wide variety of storytelling perspectives.

Local film industry, trade, and arts organizations will be on hand with information about events,  resources, and opportunities to get involved. Visit UVP’s Facebook event page to check out our growing list of tabling organizations.

The one-night screening will be Friday, October 1, at UVP’s outdoor projection site on the north facade of the Everson Museum of Art at 401 Harrison Street, from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

**NOTE: for Transmedia students attending Horizons as part of their FYS 101 Home College Experience** a trolley shuttle will depart from College Place (large bus shelter near Shaffer Art Bldg.) and run to the Everson Museum plaza from 6:45-8:45pm continuously on the night of the event. 

About the Works

Dognapped
Director: Andrew Nimetz
Alma Mater: SUNY Oswego
Co-Director, Writer: James Mentzinger

Dognapped tells the story of Dee, an impulsive, sentimental woman with a case of false bravado, and Robert, a mixed-up burglar. Both recently single, Dee and Robert must find a way to manage their strong emotions—a path that ends with the two of them breaking into the same house.

Andrew Nimetz is a native Long Islander and recent graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego. He enjoys many different aspects of filmmaking, including directing, editing, and manufacturing props. He has worked for Good Raven Productions and Syracuse Studios. Andrew is excited to return to Upstate and continue doing what he loves: collaborating with other artists to create stories that resonate with everyone.

Devour
Director: Victoria Diana
Alma Mater: SUNY Oswego

A chef is about to close for the night at her once successful but now struggling restaurant when an old flame shows up at the door. Now a rising actress, she has traveled up to Syracuse from New York City in search of familiar comfort.

Victoria Diana is a filmmaker and comedian born and raised in the Electric City, Schenectady, NY. Victoria graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2016. She recently wrote the short film, Meetcute on Danceworld, of which David Benioff, co-creator of HBO’s Game of Thrones, said “I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. I was smiling the whole way through. It’s fresh, original, and it kicks ass.”

Alone
Director: Jane Bella Kharkover
Alma Mater: Syracuse University

A young boy finds a mysterious machine in a dumpster, and with the click of a button the machine starts up, changing his world for better and for worse.

Jane Bella Khakover is a graduate of Syracuse University. Her resume features many short films and festival entries—two of which premiered at the 2019 Santa Fe and Hollywood Shorts film festivals. Inspired by musical influences, she enjoys telling stories through her dialogue to create a one-of-a-kind moving image experience for her viewers.

Wasted Talent
Director: Derrick Benton
Alma Mater: SUNY Oswego

Wasted Talent follows four high school teens who are thrown into detention after a fight. These boys from different worlds come together through their love for music and songwriting. However, their newfound bond comes to a halt amidst the harsh reality of the world they inhabit.

Derrick Benton is a Brooklyn native and graduate of SUNY Oswego with a B.A. in Cinema Screen Studies. He dedicated most of his coursework to film theory, philosophy, and storytelling through the medium of screenwriting. In 2018 Derrick received an award for outstanding screenplay at SUNY Oswego for his Senior Thesis script, Acid Rain. His stories often explore themes of identity, existential anxiety, and social inequality.

Sponsors

A grant from Empire State Development and the CNY Regional Economic Development Council supports the Competition. The CNY Arts in the Windows Program supports the screenings, in turn funded, in part, by the County of Onondaga and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the New York State Legislature.