17 June 2009 - CMF Announces Winners of the 2009 International Grand Finale

Campus MovieFest Announces Winners of the 2009 International Grand Finale
30 Rock's Scott Adsit hosted the event featuring celebrity line-up of presenters at the famed Paramount Studios.

LOS ANGELES, CA, June 17, 2009 Campus MovieFest (CMF), the world's largest student film festival, concluded its 2008-09 World Tour with its International Grand Finale the weekend of June 11-13, 2009. The top 46 student filmmaking teams, selected from nearly 75,000 participants who made movies in a week using exclusively Apple technology during CMF, headed West for events that included unforgettable workshops, receptions, screenings, studio tours, and a red carpet awards ceremony. All of the top movies are available for viewing online at www.campusmoviefest.com/igf.

I was blown away by the talent and creativity showcased at Campus MovieFest, and was thrilled to be a part of a remarkable event for the best of the next generation of student filmmakers and musicians, said event host Scott Adsit from NBC's 30 Rock. Other special presenters included Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille), James Cromwell (Babe, W), Oded Fehr (The Mummy), Nora Zehetner (Heroes, Brick), Don Johnson (Miami Vice, Nash Bridges), Gale Harold (Desperate Housewives), Christian Slater (Heathers, My Own Worst Enemy), and John Cho (Harold & Kumar, Star Trek). These guests announced the winning short films and students, including:

CMF Best of Awards:
* Best Picture - "Rhapsody", team Bumblyburg Productions, Univ. of South Florida
* Best Comedy - "Scrabble: The Motion Picture", team Bosses United for a Cause, Bridgewater State College
* Best Drama - "Hungry", team Dirty Show Crew, San Jose State University
* Poo Industries CMF Lifetime Achievement Award - "Mike Quill & Selfish Bastard Productions", Northeastern University
* Elfenworks Social Justice Award Winner - "Homeboy Industries", team streetknowledge, University of Southern California
* Elfenworks Social Justice Award Runner-up - "Hands of Change", team JUMP, Sonoma State University

CMF Golden Tripod Awards:
* Best Direction - "Bus", team Ubsey Movies, San Jose State University
* Best Story - "Dirt", team Creative Eye, The Art Institute of Atlanta
* Best Actor - Vishal Patel - "Committed", team Bagola Productions, Emory Univ.
* Best Actress - Lucy Van Atta - "Lurking for Love", team Washington Sq. Kids, NYU
* Best Editing - "Hungry" by team Dirty Shoe Crew, San Jose State University
* Best Soundtrack - "Happily Never After", team Team Freedom, Emory University
* Best Cinematography - "The Protagonist", team Sprankle Studios, Univ of Alabama

We couldn't have been more excited by the students' reactions when they saw their movies at Paramount Studios, surrounded by many of their heroes in the industry. We're honored to have the opportunity to showcase this amazing student talent to the world, said David Roemer, Co-founder of Campus MovieFest.

The CMF 2008-09 World Tour visited 56 colleges and universities, bringing the filmmaking and music-making experience to over 75,000 students. Thanks to presenting partner AT&T, the students are given free access to Apple laptops loaded with iLife and Final Cut Studio for editing, Panasonic HD camcorders, training, and one week to complete five minute movies and songs.

This year's finalists were judged by an acclaimed panel including Amy Ryan (Changeling, The Office) Donal Logue (Tao of Steve, Grounded For Life), Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live), Oded Fehr, Liz Friedlander (Step Up), screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber (500 Days of Summer), and more.

In addition to the awards presentation at Paramount Studios, students also enjoyed workshops held primarily at The Avalon Hotel, hosted by industry professionals including Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen), Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom), John August (Big Fish), Oded Fehr, Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men, Angel), Craig Mazin (Scary Movie), David Zucker (The Naked Gun), Gale Harold, Anne Fletcher (Hairspray, Step Up), Richard Arlook (The Arlook Group), Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight, Dexter), Karey Kirkpatrick (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Spiderwick Chronicles), Derek Haas (3:10 to Yuma), James Cromwell, and Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang).

About Campus MovieFest:
Campus MovieFest (CMF), the world's largest student film festival and a premier outlet for the next generation of filmmakers, began eight years ago when four students at Emory University provided fellow students with everything they needed -- including camcorders and Apple laptops -- to make movies in one week. Since then, more than 250,000 students have told their stories on the big screen at venues such as Lincoln Center, Cannes, and Paramount Studios, receiving all the necessary technology and training for free thanks to partners and schools. Additional information and thousands of CMF movies are available online at www.campusmoviefest.com. Special thanks to presenting partner AT&T, in addition Panasonic, Apple, Elgato, SnagFilms, Elfenworks Foundation, STM, and Kor Hotel Group for their support of the CMF International Grand Finale.