By AMEARA DITSCHE
Arts Editor
15 minutes Max is an annual film festival sponsored by The College of Saint Rose. It was most recently held on Sept. 28, 2019 in the MidKnight Eats Conference room in Centennial Hall. It was the 8th year of the festival.
Liz Richards, assistant professor of communications is the Director of the festival.
“Every year I say I’m not going to do this again, but here I am. It’s hard, but tons of fun,” said Richards. She described technical issues and other obstacles the committee has faced, but remained optimistic and expressed her love and appreciation of the event. “If we had more help I think we could spread even further.”
The festival consists of a screening of the finalist’s films then a presentation of the awards. There were 10 films shown, covering a multitude of genres. Including two animated shorts. “North East Avian Rescue” by Kaitlin Meissner was an educational piece on proper bird care and a rescue facility. Bananamation by Tyler Frisbee detailed the history of bananas in the united states, explaining why artificial flavoring tastes different from the actual fruit. A total of five awards were given out. Kevin O’Brien is a current student at The College who won Honorable mention for his film “The Things that Tom Hoped”
One film took home two awards. Madison Scisci’s “Unacquainted” won third place as well as the audience choice award. Scisci is a Senior at the Sage College of Albany. Upon graduating, she hopes to pursue an MFA in Film. 15 Minutes Max is her first festival. “Unacquainted” is a short film with no dialogue.
“I wanted to show how female thought is internalized,” said Scisci when asked to describe her film’s meaning. “I’m glad more eyes could see this project.” she said regarding her thoughts on her festival debut. Scisci plans to start working on a sequel, this time incorporating dialogue to expand her horizons as a film-maker.
The second place award went to “Auntie” by Aurora Sikeleanos, who became the first ever middle school student to submit to the festival. Sikeleanos’ film was a family drama with an ambiguous ending. She was not present to accept her award.
First place went to “A Visible Truth” by Shy Agojo and Ash Warren. Warren is a Pittsburgh based filmmaker who directed the film starring Agojo, a Saint Rose Communications Department Alum.
Agojo and Warren were not present at the festival but accepted their award via a video. Agojo expressed that they regretted not submitting to 15 Minutes Max when attending the college, and was glad to be apart of it as an alum.
For the past four years, The festival has been hosted by Saint Rose student Jackson Murphy. Murphy is a senior majoring in communications with a concentration in film and new media. He is a film critic and entertainment reporter, known online as Lights Camera Jackson. Although he is graduating in December, he hopes to remain apart of the festival. “I love the live atmosphere,” said Murphy.
The winners of the festival are chosen by a Jury, of which English Professor Jennifer Marlow was a member.
“It brings Albany schools together in a way nothing else really does,” said Marlow.
