I love the creative art of storytelling and how the Five16 Film Festival captures and showcases this colorfully through the talented community of students at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul. This year’s festival was on April 10, and it was so much fun to be a part of. I’ve attended the festival for the last three years and this was the first time I was involved as one of the red carpet hosts.
As a red carpet host, I did live interviews that were televised locally through CTV programming. The show was also live-streamed online to more than 1,500 people. The whole night was a whirlwind of excitement and nerves, but I think we managed to pull off the show strongly and successfully. It was my first time doing anything like this for live TV, and while it was definitely a learning experience, I am so thankful to my college for all the awesome opportunities and experiences to grow in a field of study I love.
The show’s total run time was 30 minutes and let me tell you, that was the quickest half an hour of my life. One minute we were going live and the next we were signing off. The girls I got to host with made the experience even more memorable, and we had a good time bringing the show to life.
It takes one heck of a crew to pull off a show like this, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without any of these guys pictured below. Their hard work and dedication to the night definitely didn’t go unnoticed. They helped us prepare and made things run pretty smoothly. It was so much fun working alongside all of them.
One of the reasons I love the Five16 Film Festival is because it highlights our incredible communications department. Everyone who attends the festival or watches online gets a glimpse into who some of our professors are, our fellow classmates we have the privilege of working with, and overall what it means to be a communications student. Plus it’s a lot of fun getting dressed up with everyone and seeing them look hella classy.
This was UNW’s 11th festival and every year it features short films produced by students. There are different categories like drama, comedy, music video and more. The audience also gets to vote for their favorite film to win the Audience Choice Award. The event has grown so much over the years and it’s now a community-wide event that draws over 1,000 attendees.
The festival’s name comes from Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
To see the 2017 festival winners, click here.
It was a treat to have my family on campus for the evening. I love sharing with them how awesome my department is and it’s so sweet how they like to come support me in any new role or job I am taking on or trying out. They’re the cutest.
ashley j. chiappetta 
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