'Midnight Sunrise' wins first student film competition

"Midnight Sunrise" won three of the six categories in Elon's 2002 Student Film Competition. Dan McBride & Mike Covino took honors for best film and best screenplay and McBride won for best cinematography. Mary Taylor's "9/11 - The Long Way Home" was named best documentary. Stuart Reid was named best actor for his work in "Eleven Eleven," and Michaela Cullen was best actress for her role in "Dime."

The festival, which is expected to become an annual event, was coordinated by Alyssa Martin, secretery-treasurer of Cinelon. Other Cinelon officers include president Jesse Bowman and vice president Gabriel Fowlkes. John Duvall is the group's faculty advisor. Award winnners were selected by a panel including students Martin and Mark Van Hook (film critic for The Pendulum), and faculty members Duvall, Ray Johnson and Michael Frontani.

Six of the entries were produced for JCM 358 Film Production, two were senior independent projects, and one was produced outside of the curriculum.

Here is the complete list of films and participants:

Steve Brady - "Alone and in the Dark." Running Time: 15 minutes. Writer/ Director/Cinematographer: Steven Brady. Lead actor: Ben Luongo. Supporting Actor: Mario Galucci.

Dan McBride - "Midnight Sunrise." Running Time: 19 minutes. Director/Cinematographer: Dan McBride. Writer: Dan McBride and Mike Covino. Lead actor: Mike Covino. Lead actress: Cindy Van Dyke.

Ryan Notch - "The Kitty Cat Hunter." Running Time: 21 minutes. Director/Writer: Ryan Notch. Cinematographer: Jesse Bowman. Lead actor: Mario Galluchi, Joe Preli. Actress: Shanna Sperry

Ashley Igdalsky-Mattioli - "The Zen of Snowboarding." Running Time: 15 minutes. Directors and Cinematographers: Rady Large, Larry Butler and Ashley Igdalsky-Mattioli

Jason Diebler - "Eleven: Eleven." Running Time: 11.11 minutes. Director/Writer: Jason Diebler. Cinematographer: Laird Townsend. Lead actor: Stuart Reid. Lead actress: Leanne Theits.

Nicholas Schmidt - "Resolution." Running Time: 27 minutes. Director/ Writer/Cinematographer: Nicholas Schmidt. Lead actors: Pat Williams, Todd Biggs. Lead actress: Jennifer Clair.

Carl LaPan - "Look What Happens." Running Time: 10 minutes. Director/Cinematographer/Writer: Carl LaPan. Lead Actors: Ryan Costello, Pat Calaghan.

Mary Taylor - "9/11 - The Long Way Home." Running Time: 30 minutes. Director/Cinematographer: Mary Taylor.

Liz Sessoms - "Dime." Running Time: 17 minutes. Director/ Writer/ Cinematographer: Liz Sessoms. Lead actor: Matthew Waggoner. Lead actress: Michaela Cullen.