SUNY Oswego launched the new student-run Hewitt Film Festival this spring in the recently renovated Hewitt Hall, now home to the College of Communication, Media and the Arts. The festival showcased emerging filmmakers while celebrating the transformation of the historic former student union into a modern creative hub for storytelling, media and artistic collaboration.

The festival, debuting April 10, was founded by Women in Entertainment club president Isabel Mulhern and Film Club president Sean Campbell.

“I wanted to do this forever,” Mulhern said. “Having Hewitt Hall open felt like the perfect opportunity to start it.”

What started off as a dream soon became reality. But it took a lot more than just two students, it took a lot of student volunteers, many meetings and alumni to make it possible.

Noah Ramer, a 2022 SUNY Oswego graduate who is the director of communication for Adirondack Film Inc. as well for the annual Lake Placid Film Festival, met with students to share advice. He guided them through marketing and fundraising efforts. He also was part of the panel and donated to the fundraiser for the event.

“They were more prepared than some startup festivals in New York City,” Ramer said. “I helped out in any way I could. I was able to get them two film festival passes for prizes for the potential winners.”

The day kicked off with a Lunch and Learn featuring guest speaker Victoria Diana, a 2015 Oswego graduate, alongside her partner Micah Khan, both filmmakers based in Albany. Diana studied broadcasting and mass communication and was heavily involved in WTOP-10, the student-run television station on campus. Diana took a screenwriting class as an elective and she fell in love.

Life-changing opportunities

“I came to SUNY Oswego fully believing I would work in broadcasting, but I discovered I’m a writer through one class,” Diana said. “It changed my life.”

Diana’s recent short film “Devour” gained wide exposure on YouTube with over 365K views. She talked to students about the process of creating the film as well as the setbacks that naturally arise on the film sets. Students in attendance were curious about how big the team was and how big their budget was. Diana discussed current industry themes and niches students should look out for.

“For those wondering what the easiest way to break into the industry is, it's being really good at audio production and boom-mic operating. Many projects in pre- and post-production are always looking for them,” Diana said. “For those in the industry today, I’m sure you know what I mean.”

Aside from technical skills that can land a starting position, both speakers emphasized the importance of authenticity, kindness and humor. Though these things are not taught at school as part of the curriculum, they are highly regarded and important skills all employers and colleagues look for in team-oriented projects.

After sharing a few horror stories from their careers, they ended the panel with one simple message.

“Having a positive attitude on hard days on set [makes you] amazing to be around and will only get you more connections and jobs,” Khan said.

Student work showcased

After the guest speaker event concluded, the doors opened and more than 100 students, faculty and staff entered the Hewitt Hall ballroom, eager to watch what students created.

While 15 shorts were submitted, only 12 were picked to be shown. The event opened with speeches from both Mulhern and Campbell.

“This has been quite the experience,” Mulhern said. “I learned a lot and I got to work and meet some incredible people in the process.”

Campbell thanked everyone for showing up and for making his dream of establishing an on-campus film festival a reality before he graduated in May.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to leave Oswego,” Campbell said. “I’m pleased to leave knowing this was a success and knowing I’m leaving it in great hands.”

After screening the films, ranging from cartoons to horror, came the awards ceremony. A panel of industry professionals, faculty and alumni judged the film, with students in attendance getting to vote for the best overall film of the night.

Prizes included a Canon camera, a Kodak digital camera, 2025-2026 recently released movie-theatre sized posters, two tickets to the Lake Placid Film Festival, two free subscriptions to Final Draft (the industry standard screenwriting software) and, of course, bragging rights.

Diana shared that her favorite film, which also happened to be the panel’s choice for best film, was one called “Hairspray.”

“The whole event was amazing and I really loved ‘Hairspray,’” Diana said.

Mulhern and Campbell ended the evening with a closing statement thanking the audience, the students who submitted their films and the faculty and staff present who aided the team into its success.

“Thank you for becoming part of Hewitt history,” Campbell said.

— Written by Jose Vazquez Nava of the Class of 2027 for University Advancement