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On April 6, Winona State University hosted the very first Cloven Hoof Film Festival. The festival celebrated the work of several Winona State students, local Midwest residents, along with films from around the US and some that were international films. What made the Cloven Hoof Film Festival particularly impactful was that it was run by student Trianna Douglas.
“I am the festival director and host. I have been pretty much sole in charge of everything surrounding the event, from picking the films from 1,200 plus entries, to running social media, making posters, and reaching out to press and personal invites to the event,” Douglas said.
Dr. Danielle Schwartz, one of the Film Studies professors at Winona State, was the internship advisor for Douglas throughout her preparation and execution of the event. Dr. Schwartz mentions that most of her work for overseeing the event was logistics, such as making sure the SLC room could be booked and going over technical requirements for the showcase.
Douglas created the film festival from the very start, hoping to highlight the work of emerging filmmakers, particularly films created by students. With her knowledge in event planning after receiving a degree in Recreation and Tourism, she was excited to create an event that incorporated her love for film, with the guidance of her professor, Dr. Schwartz.
“At least one semester per academic year I offer some kind of film programming internship. Trianna Douglas brought the idea of a student-run film festival,” Schwartz said. “I loved the idea because it was something that we could logistically pull off and it would offer Trianna the opportunity to learn more about how film festivals solicit submissions, select films, create themed screening blocks, and more.”
The city of Winona hosts the Frozen River Film Festival every year in February and brings in Winona State community members and visitors from all over. Dr. Schwartz mentions that while this festival allows film students to showcase their work, there are still students seeking other degrees who have plenty of creative work to highlight. She mentions that high school students should receive attention for their films as well.
“While anyone can submit films to the festival, we primarily were looking for student made films. Of the 18 films chosen, 14 were made by high school and college students,” Dr. Schwartz said. “The mission that Tri developed is to provide a setting appropriate for celebrating the works of emerging filmmakers at WSU, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.”
Both Douglas and Dr. Schwartz were particularly excited for the work of the students from the WGSS 140 class, creating impactful work surrounding topics such as reproductive justice.
After over a thousand submissions, Douglas had compiled a full schedule of screenings to be shown for her film festival, and the event served as a way to bring together the filmmaking community, both inside and outside of Winona.
