By Oliver Wan (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) The course “Film Festival Studies” led by Professor Cavallero was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. As an Environmental Studies major that only minored in Film Studies, I felt somewhat underprepared for the course. In all honesty, I had little to no idea what a film festival…

By Gene Chen (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) In 2022, one of the most exciting additions to the Bates Film Festival was our partnership with Neon, a leading production and distribution company renowned for its involvement in some of today’s most refreshing and exciting independent films.  The partnership with Neon led to BFF screenings…

By Amanda Metzger (BFF 2022) Working with the Bates Film Festival gave me plenty of opportunities to learn important skills for careers in the arts, particularly in fields like development and producing. As BFF members we had the opportunity to be involved in almost every element of putting the festival together, like directly contacting film…

By Audrey Soss (BFF 2022) As bell hooks states in the introduction to her book Reel to Real, “Whether we like it or not, cinema assumes a pedagogical role in the lives of many people. It may not be the intent of a filmmaker to teach audiences anything, but that does not mean lessons are…

By Rabih Chughtai (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2023) Many of the most established filmmakers in the world, including George Lucas, Damien Chazelle, Wes Anderson, and Sofia Coppola, got their start in short films. Short films are particularly significant for us at the Bates Film Festival because they tend to be made for the festival…

By Amanda Metzger (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) When we began creating this film festival, I had many expectations for what it would look like and what our tasks would be. Reading the syllabus at first felt overwhelming!  Not only were there several pages worth of mini assignments, but we were also expected to…

By Max Younger (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2022) For the 2022 iteration of the Bates Film Festival, one of our primary goals was to rework our mission statement. Before our revisions, the statement was lengthy, spanning two paragraphs and covering an array of subjects. As a class, we discussed what we wanted this festival…

By Cole De Magistras (BFF 2022, Bates Class of 2024) The 2022 Bates Film Festival (BFF) was an experience unlike any other. When I sent in my petition to join Professor Cavallero’s “Film Festival Studies” seminar, I was unaware of the true nature of the endeavor I was about to undertake. After my acceptance into…

By Jonathan J. Cavallero, Bates Film Festival Founding Director Two days before the start of the 2022 Bates Film Festival, we received some devastating news.  Santo Pelletier, a BFF board member in 2019, had passed away at the age of 23.  We dedicated the program to them, and I made mention of their loss at…