The MTSU community can enjoy an award-winning trio of documentary films created by a dozen MTSU students at free campus screenings Dec. 2 and 3 in the Student Union.
The documentaries, which were the products of a summer Documentary Program Abroad trip to Florence, Italy, took top prizes at the recent ArtLightenment Festival in Nashville.
Each 10-minute film focuses on a different aspect of art and artists in the city known as the birthplace of the Renaissance, where Professor Tom Neff accompanied the students on their three-week adventure. The students and Neff, founder of the Documentary Channel and an Academy Award documentary nominee and Emmy winner, then returned to campus for three more weeks of postproduction work.
The free screenings, which are open to the public, are set Monday, Dec. 2, from 12:30 to 1 p.m. and 4 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in the Student Union’s Video Theatre, Room 208. A searchable campus map with parking notes is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap13-14.
Sam Willey’s team created “Il Maestro Aquafresca,” Jaclyn Edmondson’s team created “Sbocciare” and Phillip Dixon’s team created “Streets of Florence.”
“Sbocciare” tells the story of mosaic artist Silvia Logi, who promotes the idea that “art” is ready to bloom in everyone regardless of age, occupation or excuses. “Il Maestro Aquafresca” follows chasing and repousse master Aquafresca, whose art is his love, passion and life. And “Streets of Florence” focuses on a number of talented artists, ranging from Claudio Spadi to Clet Abraham, who create their art on the public streets of Florence.
“Sbocciare” won the Best Film Award at ArtLightenment, while “Il Maestro Aquafresca” won both Best Documentary and the Audience Award. “Streets of Florence” won the award for Best Production Design.
You can listen to a pre-trip interview with Neff, recorded last spring for "MTSU On the Record," at http://mtsu.edu/news/podcast/2013/NEFFMIXDOWN.mp3. You also can view trailers for each film:
- “Sbocciare,” http://vimeo.com/69512231.
- "Il Maestro Aquafresca,” http://vimeo.com/67111848.
- "Streets of Florence," http://vimeo.com/68236727.
Learn more about the students, faculty and projects in MTSU’s Department of Electronic Media Communication at http://emcmtsu.com.