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Langley students learn film making

A special movie night is coming to Trinity Western University (TWU) on Oct. 16 where high school students will be able to meet

TWU alumni and see the films they made. One of those former students is Langley resident Justin Smith who graduated from

TWU in 2014 and has already found a job in his field.

Hosted by the School of Arts, Media + Culture (SAMC) at TWU, the event will feature a showing of the best short films made by

TWU students followed by a panel of filmmakers who will answer questions about screenwriting, directing, animation, and other aspects of the field.

Smith will have his film New on the Job shown.

“That was 2012 [when I made that film],” Smith said. “So second year of university for me.”

The comedy was an award winner when Smith was a TWU student.

The film fest event will entertain high school students, but more importantly, give them an understanding of what it takes to be part of the film making industry.

“Film is a cool way to be an artist,” Smith noted. “You’re not really the face of it… you can sit in the audience with everyone else.”

Smith wants students to see film’s many elements.

“Film is a really interesting art in that it takes so many elements of the liberal arts,” he said. “It pulls together all these things to make one piece. All these people come together to create it.”

Creating a film requires the efforts of writers, actors, editors, producers, and many other talents.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun,” Smith added. “But it’s really cool to have so many hours of work and be able to show it to an audience.”

When asked what he hopes the students who attend the TWU film fest will get out of the evening, he noted, “There will be those film makers there… interested in the process. Sometimes it’s after you’ve watched it [a film] you can kind of say there was something interesting there.”

Admission is free, but registration is required through the SAMC site at www.twu.ca/samc. Food will be served and the evening begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Northwest Auditorium at TWU.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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