8A - The Daily Iowan - Iowa City, Iowa - Monday, November 7, 2011
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PATV holds festival An organizer said he hopes attract more diverse contestants in future contests by having broader themes.
Forty volunteers have signed up to assemble the birthday-party kits. BY DORA GROTE dora-grote@uiowa.edu
By RISHABH R. JAIN rishabh-jain@uiowa.edu
A crowd of more than 60 piled into the Mill Sunday evening,where they witnessed romance, comedy, and experimental films in Iowa City. The screening was part of Public Access TV’s first filmmaking contest. And with the help of several local business owners, seven of the 13 contestants who entered the “I Love Iowa City Film Contest” left with prizes. Yale Cohn, an associate member of the PATV Board of Directors, said he was pleased with how things turned out, even though the group didn’t get as many entries as it expected. “The first time you do anything, you learn what worked, what didn’t, and what could have worked better,” Cohn said. “I have great hope to continue these events in the future, and it is only going to get better.” PATV works as an integral filmmaking resource for the community; it encourages anyone to attend its free orientation and subsequent workshops that can help them harness their filmmaking talent. Cohn previously extended the deadline for submitting participating videos by 19 days, which increased the number of submissions. “We got more submissions. Other bigger film fes-
Volunteers to build birthday kits
Spectators watch films made by local entrants at the I Love Iowa City Film Contest on Sunday in the Mill. The contest was hosted by Public Access TV. (The Daily Iowan/Anthony Bauer) tivals usually have a larger deadline than ours,” Cohn said. “Had we done this event earlier, we would have known we needed more time for submissions.” The event began with the screening of some short videos by the PATV team and then moved on to screen winning entries along with a couple “honorable mentions.” Fidi Nagy, a UI sophomore and a prize winner for his romantic film “Song of Iowa City,” said he was very happy with the result, because he hadn’t expected to win. Nagy, who explored romance with Iowa City from a soon-to-graduate student’s perspective, said he was inspired by a fellow student who was about to graduate two days before he shot his film. He cast that student as the protagonist for his film. Another prize winner, community member Jason Smith, said he was excited Iowa City hosted an event for local filmmakers and
credited PATV for taking the initiative. “I have been involved with PATV since I was in high school, and I am surprised it doesn’t have too many followers,” Smith said. “It gives you outlets to be creative and learn more about filmmaking.” Many local businesses around Iowa City contributed to the contest by sponsoring the prizes for winning entries. Some of these prizes included music CDs, gift certificates to Prairie Lights, free tickets to Englert Theatre, free custom-made T-shirts, and also custom-designed Christmas cards by local cartoonist Bob Patton. Josh Goding, the executive director of PATV, announced that PATV will host similar events in the future with larger deadlines. Goding gave the winners free one-year memberships with PATV,which would give them access to all PATV’s equipment and studio. Jill Davis, a member of
Film titles Names of some winning entries at PATV’s I Love Iowa City filmmaking contest: • “Song of Iowa City,” by Fidi Nagy • “Aftermath,” by Matt Wagner • “Black Opals 3a, 3b, 4,” by Ava Su Gan-Wei • “Tale of the Sharpie Bandit,” by Jason Smith • “Heath the Toilet Paper Bandit,” by John Richard Source: PATV’s Program
the audience, said the contest is a source of inspiration for everyday people like her to explore the world of filmmaking. “I recently did the free orientation at PATV. I have also been a volunteer and taken some workshops, which have helped me learn more about how to make films,” she said, and she would like to see more film contests in the future.
One University of Iowa honor society hopes to make a few more children’s birthdays “special” this year. And, with the help of local businesses, the UI Sigma Theta Tau International Gamma Chapter Community Service Board will host a Birthday Party Kit Service to assemble birthday kits for children tonight. “I thought it would be a cool way to make birthdays special for those [kids] who don’t always get the opportunities,” said Anne Bye, the undergraduate leadership intern for the Gamma Chapter — an international honor society for nursing students — who developed the idea. The kits will be donated to Shelter House and the Ronald McDonald House, which will distribute them to children on their birthdays. Kristin Roberts, the executive director of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Iowa, is thrilled about the idea. “When a child is in the hospital, it is sometimes hard to feel normal, but when a volunteer group comes in and does something like this, it gives them a sense of normalcy,” Roberts said. “A lot of times, parents might be focused on the child in the hospital, and I think [the birthday kits] are a wonderful thing, not just for the kids in the hospital but for the siblings.” Bye said 40 volunteers signed up to assemble the kits with enough supplies, from donations, to assemble 10 large kits.
The grouped received $300 in donations, in addition to donations of various party items, including birthday-cake mix and frosting, wrapping paper, and gift certificates. Papa John’s Pizza is also giving the chapter 50 percent off of pizza for volunteers, and Hobby Lobby gave them 50 percent off when purchasing supplies. Samantha Robison, a volunteer and Community Service Board member for the Gamma Chapter, said she has spread the word about the event and donations by talking to her friends and setting up a donation box in the College of Nursing. “The other great thing is that each kit will have enough supplies for siblings and other children at the shelters to enjoy the festivities as well,” Bye said. Jacinda Bunch, the mother of three girls and the Gamma Chapter treasurer, said the event is beneficial for parents during tough economic times. “As a parent,you hate to see your children disadvantaged in any way,” she said. “You don’t want to have to make a decision between birthday parties and food for the week. This is a way to take care of your family and have a nice event for your child.” But Bye said the most gratifying experience is the feedback from children. “We’re hoping we can see how they throw their birthday party and see their reactions,” Bye said. “Seeing their reactions is always very rewarding.” The kit event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. today in the UI College of Nursing student lounge.