Above: A few of the winners at the Xavier Film Festival.

Creativity on Display at Film Festival, Festival of the Arts

By Justin Pastilha '16

At the Xavier Film Festival and the Festival of the Arts, both held on May 19, members of the student body were recognized for their creative talents. 

The 10th annual Xavier Film Festival showcased the work of seniors who took the Moviemaking and Editing with Premiere Pro course. This class, taught by Michael Chiafulio, requires students to create short films throughout the course of the year, and the Film Festival serves to honor their hard work. This was the first Film Festival hosted in the new Keenan Commons, and it drew a crowd of more than 100 people.

“It was a wonderful night that gave the students an opportunity to showcase their hard work and have a chance to receive some community feedback,” Chiafulio said.

There were several awards given out at the finale of the festival. The Xavier Oscar went to the film team of Leonardo Pereira ’17, Logan Pia ’17, Michael Schiavello ’17, and Joseph Murgida ’17 for their film Godbrother. In addition to that honor, Pereira also received best director for his work on that film. Other awards included best actor (Billy Feerick ’17), best editor (Logan Pia ’17 and Harrison O’Callaghan ’17), and best technical skill (David Orlando ’17). 

You can watch the films here.

The Festival of the Arts has been an end-of-the-year celebration for the Fine Arts Department for more than 25 years. Performances by the Blue Night Band, vocal music, and the Xavier Dramatics Society complemented an amazing gallery of student artwork.

The festival allows students and faculty to look over a year of accomplishments and beautiful artwork. Xavier legend Brian Moroney, who taught on 16th Street for more than 40 years, started the festival with a poetry reading that set the tone for the rest of the night. For many students, it was their first time being able to display their work in a gallery setting, and for the seniors, it marked their first time being able to auction off their work. A panel of alumni judges evaluated each piece separately, with awards going to the top artists in each grade.

“It was a great celebration of the arts at Xavier,” said Fine Arts chair Renzo Ventrella ’92. “I love to see the students’ reactions when they see their art on display as well as the parents’ joy of seeing their son’s hard work around the gym.”