On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the night before Halloween, the Student Film Association held its annual Spooktacular Film Festival at the West Campus Building, showcasing students' scary short films.
Before the day of the festival rolled around, a lot of preparations had to be made. Mira Plummer, president of the Student Film Association, shared one of the hardest parts of preparing.
"One thing that is really hard for me is picking which films to cut,” Plummer said. “We had to cut 30 to 45 minutes worth of films, and it’s really a difficult decision when you're judging your peers.”
David Een, vice president of the club, discussed another part of the process the association goes through when deciding which films to screen.
"We are a BYU film festival, so there are stricter guidelines, and they have to be approved by faculty for following our viewing creation policy set by BYU," Een said. "A lot of screening and a lot of work goes on behind the scenes so that we can make the Spooktacular day run as smoothly as possible."
Before the event started, students — most dressed in Halloween costumes — mingled in the hallway, introducing friends and family to their colleagues. A popcorn machine popped fresh popcorn, drinks were offered in a cooler and Halloween candy was available.
“This year was the biggest turnout we’ve ever had,” Plummer said.
At 7 p.m. everyone was ushered into the theater, where audience members were greeted with an impressively large venue. Orange walkway lights lined the ground and stage, where the projector screen displayed the Spooktacular event infographic.
Once everyone took their seats, Plummer quickly introduced herself and welcomed everyone to the film festival. The audience cheered with excitement, and when the first short film started, they cheered even louder.
"It’s seriously one of the best audience experiences ever. Everyone just wants to have a good time," Plummer said. "It is so fun and so valuable as a filmmaker to be able to see your work screened in front of that many people and such a generous group of people, too."
As each film ended, the audience erupted in cheers, setting the tone for the night. One by one, films showcased unique monsters and chilling themes. Zombies lurked in some, while others featured murderers or ghosts.
"We also have a lot of really fun ones that are almost more comedic than horror. It’s a spooky world, but it’s a lot of lighthearted, fun stuff, and those are often the fan favorites," Een said.
After every three films or so, a club member announced awards for films with the best sound, settings, and other noteworthy cinematography. According to Plummer and Een, the officers of the association picked the nominees.
"Out of those nominees, we had external judges pick the winners, so we weren’t biased in choosing who won the awards,” Plummer said.
This was the third Spooktacular event the Student Film Association has put on, so according to Plummer, there were no surprises — except for one.
“The biggest surprise was how many people showed up. I knew people were gonna come, especially film majors, but I was surprised by how many non-film members showed up,” she said.
Brooke Magelsen, a member of the association, shared her favorite part of the event.
"It’s just an opportunity for us to test out what we’ve been learning in the program in a low-stakes environment and build camaraderie with each other," she said.