Four Pacific Union College students came away from the annual SONscreen Film Festival in Simi Valley, Calif., April 12 to 14, with top awards for their films. Uly Mostrales, Brian Bazemore, TJ Gleason and J.R. Rogers won Best Music Video, Best Drama, Best Documentary, and Best of the Fest (grand prize), respectively.

J.R. Rogers’ grand prize film, titled “Three Courses,” is the story of three different couples who find, lose and re-establish love over the course of dinner in an elegant restaurant. It is not only a love story dedicated to the different paths that relationships take, but is also a love letter to the art and food culture and the role that it plays in the most important moments in our lives. Rogers worked with students Eryck Chairez, Brian Bazemore and Jackson Boren and film and television instructor Stephen Eyer to write, edit, design and produce the film.

The SONscreen Film Festival is a destination for established and up-and-coming Christian filmmakers to share their creative work, gain exposure and network with other media and film professionals. The festival encourages the work of young adults who have a passion for using film and video for the purpose of creating timely and relevant productions for social awareness, outreach and uplifting, creative entertainment. Since the festival debuted in 2002, a number of PUC students have received prizes for their dramas, public service announcements, documentaries and comedies.

Ten PUC students attended this year’s festival, along with instructors Terry Cantrell, Stephen Eyer and Milbert Mariano, chair of the PUC visual arts department. “The film and television program is an important part of the future of media, and our students are committed to creating positive change within the Adventist church and the world-wide media industry,” said Mariano. “Our commitment and love of the craft of storytelling through film and TV has been validated by our achievements and awards at SONscreen.”

In addition to film and television, the visual arts department of PUC offers majors in fine art, photography and graphic design, and minors in art history and fine art. It is one of the largest programs on campus, and the film and television program has 27 students this year. The program continues to develop its resources and emphasizes hands-on experience for students. One recent project, headed up by Rogers and Cantrell, was creating a mobile broadcast trailer for multi-camera and off-campus shoots.