WINFIELD GRAD'S FILMS TO BE SCREENED AT W.VA. FILM FESTIVAL

Publication: THE HERALD-DISPATCH
Published: 11/6/2008
Page: --
Headline: WINFIELD GRAD'S FILMS TO BE SCREENED AT W.VA. FILM FESTIVAL
Byline: CYNTHIA SOTO

CHARLESTON -- Three short film works of a 1997 Winfield graduate will be screened at the upcoming West Virginia International Film Festival at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, in Charleston.

West Virginia native and Winfield High School graduate Sam Holdren said he welcomes the opportunity to return to the WVIFF, where he received awards during college competitions in 2001 and 2002 while attending then-West Virginia State College. Holdren said those experiences helped him obtain admission as a graduate student to Temple University, where he received his master's degree in film and media arts in May 2008.

The festival is at West Virginia State University Capitol Center Theatre, 123 Summers St., Charleston

Holdren's films to be screened at the event will include "Audition," "Play" and the West Virginia debut of "The Paradigm Shift," all of which have previously screened at film festivals around the country.

"Audition" is a tragic comedy about William Ashe, an aspiring actor, who believes in signs. "Audition," says Holdren, "is a dark love letter to people who haven't quite found their way in life just yet."

Holdren described "Play" as a comedy of manners where the audience is the show during a night at the theater. That film recently tied for Best Narrative Short at the 2008 West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival and previously screened at the Rockport Film Festival in Texas.

"The Paradigm Shift" has won the Audience Award at the Main Line Film Festival in Wayne, Pa., and Best Student Narrative at the Peace On Earth Film Festival in Chicago. Written and produced by Holdren, and directed by Jon Barr, the film is about an activist history professor who assigns his class to design a plan to assassinate the president.