Five Stories: 2007

UCF Film is dedicated to strong narratives and engaging stories. That's why we call our annual DVD compilation FIVE STORIES. Films featured on this disc–chosen from the more than 100 projects completed each year by our students–not only showcase a maturity in the technical aspects of filmmaking but also a sophistication of storytelling we believe is among the best of the nation's film programs.

Five Stories is sent out each year to a wide range of local and national industry professionals. Industry members can request a copy by sending an e-mail that includes their professional affiliations. The disc also provides valuable exposure for our students as UCF FILM actively markets it to film festivals around the country.

No-Air House

• Director/Dp/Editor: Marco Cordero
• Writer: Justin Chastain
• Producer: Christina Santa Cruz
• Total Run Time: 4:00
• Date Of Completion:

Synopsis

Are you looking for treasure? Do you want to be happy? Visit the No-Air House. Dozens of rooms to explore.

The Universe Connection

• Director/Writer/Music/Lyrics: Phillip Chernyak
• Producer: Desiree Proctor
• Director of Photography: Soo Eung Chae
• Editors: Brett Ryan Bonowicz, Phillip Chernyak
• Total Run Time: 16:30
• Date of Completion: 8/2007

Synopsis

A peculiar foreigner enters Josephine's song-filled life.

• From the Director

  So, this is typically where the filmmaker ruminates on the deep philosophical themes he or she oh-so-meticulously weaved into their film and how they ultimately reflected some autobiographical experience from a sexually confused adolescence.

  Man, if only I had something that good!

  I can't say too much, but I can say this - Mr. Wizard and Jacques Demy had something to do with this film. Probably Fred Penner's Place too, somewhere. I'd also always admired the simplicity and beauty of film musicals from the 50s and 60s, how they'd let the action play out in long wide takes. Like when Michele Lee sings "I Believe In You" in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - she does it in a single shot. And it's awesome.

  Big props to the dedicated crew who stuck with me in the week-or-so of shooting, and the rest who I reduced to tears in a megalomaniacal rampage. More big props to the actors who lip-synched to their own voices way better than Milli Vanilli ever could. Even more big props to the art department for making some really big props. Finally, I have to give out some extra special props to my wonderful parents who encouraged me to follow my dreams (and make them TONS of money.)

To Where the Water Will Carry Her

• Director/Writer/Editor: Christy Rubenstein
• Producer: Cassie Richardson
• Director of Photography: Kevin Akers
• Production Designer: Erin Riegel
• Total Run Time: 10:50
• Date of Completion:

Synopsis

A young woman trying to make sense of a transitional time in her life discovers the best thing to do is float.

The Untethered Citizen

• Director/Writer/Editor: Alix Duggins
• Producer: Cassie Richardson
• Director of Photography: David Estrada
• Production Designer: Erin Mosura
• Total Run Time: 7:15
• Date of Completion: 09/2007

Synopsis

A psychological portrait of all those whose sense of home gets lost in the shuffle of modern life. Does home mean the same thing it always has? Can we live without it? Should we try?

• From the Director

  Admittedly, I was a little lost. Born in one place, raised somewhere else, and living in yet another spot, I never know what to say when someone asks me where I'm from. Any answer I formulate with words seems lacking. So I made a film.

  I still don't know how to answer the question, but I think it stresses me out less these days. As terrifying as not knowing might be, there is a beauty in multiplicity; in the many different correct answers to a question.

  The influences were many (precisely the point). I never know how to categorize this film. It's hard sometimes to give people a frame of reference. It's part narrative, part experimental, even a little documentary. With a nod to Bill Brown, I would call it an essay. At the end of the day I hope it doesn't matter, and that everyone sees a bit of their life, their childhood, their future, their home, on the screen.

  And, yes, I scratched the film with a fork.

The Hijab of Dena

• Director/Writer: Erika Rydell
• Producer: Erika Rydell
• Director of Photography: Erika Rydell
• Editor: Erika Rydell
• Total Run Time: 7:00
• Date of Completion: 4/2007

Synopsis

A young Arab-American named Dena tells what it’s like to live in America as an Islamic activist wearing the hijab.

• From the Director

  I first became interested in making this documentary as a history minor sitting in two of my Middle Eastern Islamic courses. There was this fiery young woman in the class who knew everything and anything about Islam. She had energy, and she wasn't afraid to argue with our professor about what she believed in. I thought to myself, 'I want to know more about her.' When I saw that a film class had found her in the New York Times on the front page, featured about how she was denied a job due to her hijab (headscarf), I knew this was it; she was going to be the main character of my documentary workshop documentary.

  So, I began talking with her, and we actually became really good friends. She told me how she'd suffered memory loss due to an accident she felt was pre-meditated to kill her because she was such an Islamic activist in the area. And, not only is she an activist, but she also stems from a royal family line in Syria and her great grandfather was President of Syria at one time.

  What I found so interesting was that she has been the victim of so many tragedies because of her activism and her hijab. I also found that the hijab is something she respects immensely and loves to wear to show her faith. She's one of the nicest persons I've ever met, and so many people have misconceptions about Muslim women. So, in the documentary, I decided to delve into why she wears the hijab, how she feels about wearing the hijab, and what has happened to her post-911 because she chooses to wear it. Whether or not her claim for the intent behind the accident is true or not, she still believes it is, and this stress is seen clearly in the film, showing what racism can do to people.