Story By: Walker Payne

MONTEVALLO, Ala. — Montevallo’s first student-led film festival, Scene on the Bricks, held its inaugural event over the weekend.

Festival Director and President of the Film Festival Club Emma McCarrell hosted the event, saying it was a huge learning experience for everyone involved.

“Between all of us, everyone in the festival, none of us had ever even been to a film festival before…” McCarrell said. “But we did have any amazing sponsor: Professor Newell. He helped organize festivals in, like, New York, Sidewalk Birmingham… So, he really helped us through that.”

The festival operated free-of-charge for both submissions and attendance, with a come-and-go structure for anyone wanting to drop by throughout the day.

According to McCarrell, there were over 1000 submissions, and 31 of those were chosen to screen at the inaugural event.

The screenings were divided across three separate sections for high school, college, and indie films, and the event ran from 1 to 7 p.m.

During the event, many of Montevallo’s own spoke on their experiences as student filmmakers, with UM senior and director of “Seeing Red” Cami Woods speaking on her time as both an independent filmmaker and as the president of Montevallo’s BEA club.

“Without BEA and without this project, I would not be the person standing her before you today,” she said. “I have found life-long collaborators and a creative team, yes, but most importantly, I have found people that I am so glad to be able to call my chosen family.”

To round out the event, the festival’s award ceremony, known formally as “The Brickies,” was held to honor the filmmakers who submitted their works.

The ceremony saw seven winners across all of the festival’s categories:

  • Best High School Film: “Five Dollars Rich”
  • Best College Film: “The Last Stop” [UM Entry]
  • Best Indie Film: “All Things We Could Be”
  • Best Acting: Charisa Moore, Claire Temple, Cole Wilson, & Jayla Bester for “Seeing Red” [UM Entry]
  • Best Cinematography: Noah Love for “Talk to Him” [UM Entry]
  • Best Script: Roxanna Gail & Walker Payne for “It Comes Knocking” [UM Entry]
  • Judge’s Choice: “Love Bites”

McCarrell says the festival taught her a lot about how important marketing is for an event like this, with plans for next year’s festival having already been brought into conversation.

Regardless, McCarrell is very proud of the club and the filmmakers who submitted their works to the festival for how much they managed to accomplish in just a year’s time.

“I think seeing all of my peers come in and see their films on the big screen, I think it’s really effective to see your film on something other than just a computer,” she said. “To see it on a huge screen with good audio, with an audience, it really does something to you.”

To keep up with Montevallo’s Film Festival club and to learn more about future events, follow @sceneonthebricksum on Instagram or visit https://filmfreeway.com/SceneontheBricksUMFilmFestival.