News Release

Student’s class assignment earns film festival honors

May 28, 2008

A class assignment undertaken by Penn State Harrisburg undergrad Communications major Angelo DiMauro has become a film festival prize winner.

DiMauro’s short film entitled "A Good Thing" earned him the Emerging Artist Award and a $500 prize in the Susquehanna Shorts Film Festival in Lewisburg. The film was screened May 9 and 10 at the historic Campus Theatre as part of the festival sponsored by the Lewisburg Arts Council.

In addition to DiMauro’s winning entry, the competition included films created by students at Temple University, Penn State University Park, and Bucknell University.

"A Good Thing" was created to meet a class assignment about dealing with time in film. Assistant Professor of Humanities and Communications Catherine Rios, who taught the class, explains, "The students have three to six minutes to show some interpretation of cinematic time. Angelo showed this beautiful film about a young man’s experience with grief with water as a central visual motif that he used metaphorically on several levels."

"After the film showing was over, the entire class just went silent. Even the students who happened to be present, but who were working independently, stopped their work to view the film. I saw in the film a striking visual style that was very intuitive and human, and had a lot of impact."

She adds, "Angelo was in my screenwriting class as well and these qualities are also present in his writing. He is a very talented artist and the Emerging Artist Award is the perfect recognition. It’s an award that recognizes his promise."

DiMauro, a native of East Texas now residing in Middletown, says, "For me, "A Good Thing" is a story about hope and how we find ways to move on. The water theme was pretty important for me in that I wanted an overall sense of being cleansed by the end of the film – even if it’s only in the character’s mind."