As a student at the Savannah campus, I get the opportunity to attend the SCAD Savannah Film Festival in Savannah, GA. This was my 4th and final year attending as a student and I must say that this year’s festival was one to remember. Celebrities, film industry people, SCAD students & faculty, Savannah locals, and people visiting from out of town were in attendance at the festival. Celebrity guests and honorees included Aldis Hodge, Olivia Wilde, Alan Cumming, Alan Silvestri, Elisabeth Moss, Daniel Kaluuya, and more.
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival is a eight-day long SCAD event that hosts a long variety of featured films that have not been released nationwide or have been. I was able to see some amazing movies, including Harriet, Knives Out, Just Mercy, Booksmart, Clemency, and A beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Other types of films include competition films (student films and professional films), documentaries and animated shorts. The festival also holds a variety of panels, workshops, lectures, and award presentations. SCAD Performing Arts majors, like myself, had the opportunity to attend masterclasses. Within those classes, we got the chance to meet some of the celebrity guests or those in the film industry for a Q&A and hear about their experiences with the film and stage industry.
I knew very few of the honorees this year, but I’m glad I got to learn more about those who did attend. I will say that this year’s festival was much different from the last few years, in regards to the theme. Instead of the traditional, classy festivities, it was more colorful and fun. I enjoyed the different event receptions they would have during the week, such as an ice cream social and the block party. My favorite event of the entire festival was the closing night reception because everyone got a chance to come together for this big party and there was music and dancing; it was so much fun. My favorite film to have watched would definitely be between Knives Out and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. I’m a huge fan of murder mysteries and Mister Rogers was a huge part of my childhood.
I would say that if you’re a SCAD ATL student and you’re in Savannah during the month of October, I would definitely check out the festival at least once while you’re still a student. It is an amazing experience and a great opportunity to check out some films that haven’t been released in theaters yet, as well as meet people of the film industry and fellow students and faculty of the Savannah campus. I’ll admit that it can be expensive, depending on the price range and a person’s budget. However, it is all worth it. The SCAD Savannah Film Festival is one of my favorite events at SCAD and I’m definitely going to miss attending as a student once I graduate.