Photo courtesy of Columbus International Festival/The Lantern
“Strength and Honour,” a film about an Irish American boxer struggling to make ends meet for his family, is one of the entries in this year’s Columbus International Film and Video Festival.
 

The 56th Columbus International Film and Video Festival will continue its tradition as the longest-running film festival in North America this year. The festival, which runs Nov. 9 to 16, was founded in 1952 by the late Edgar Dale, professor emeritus of Ohio State, along with other professionals.

The event rewards first place entries in each division of the contest with a Chris Award, an honor recognized worldwide by producers and directors.

“The award has a good reputation … and for decades was a qualifying award for the Academy Awards,” said Karl Mechem, co-chair of the board of the festival, in an e-mail.

The festival includes mostly documentaries, and is known for having great strength in this genre, Mechem said, though there will also be a few narrative features. The film festival has submissions from all over the world and is well-known in the film industry.

“It’s because of the juried competition that the festival has its reputation,” Mechem said.

Each division has a jury and a winning film. The juries are made up of area residents, and the event is almost entirely volunteer, Mechem said.

The difference between film and video is often a heated topic among movie geeks, Mechem said. “Film” is a motion picture shot on physical film (35 mm on a reel) and “video” is a motion picture shot on a digital video camcorder. “It gets hairy because movies are often called films, so now we have films that are made with digital video,” he said.

The festival will screen films from Canadian, German, Irish, American and Spanish directors throughout the week, said Susan Halpern, executive director of the festival.

Most of the film screenings will be feature-length, or 90 minutes, but there will also be several short films this year, Mechem said. Screenings are free for students, with the exception of “Pageant.”

Along with film screenings, the festival also offers more interactive activities.

“There is a free workshop at 3:30 Thursday afternoon,” Halpern said. “Irish director Mark Mohan will do a presentation and talk about his film [‘Strength and Honour’]. This is a great source for students interested in filmmaking.” The workshop is in Kinney Hall room 301 at the Columbus College of Art and Design.

“Whether you’re watching stacks and stacks of films, picking up directors from the airport or just taking tickets, the festival offers a lot for students interested in film,” Mechem said.

The festival invites OSU students who are interested in film and have had some experience in film, film studies or some expertise in one of the division’s subject matters to be jurors. For more information, visit www.chrisawards.org.

Kimberly Snodgrass can be reached at [email protected].