And the Golden Reel goes to …

Well, that has yet to be determined, but it will be announced tonight at 7 p.m. when the Student Film and Video Association hands out its annual Golden Reel Awards at Cole Hall, Room 101.

This will mark the sixth time the SFVA has given out the awards. Last year’s awards drew in more than 160 people, said Brian Daley, senior history major and SFVA president.

“Last year was a great success,” he said. “We more than doubled the attendance from the previous year.”

He and Anastasia Platok, a sophomore communication and Russian major and SFVA secretary, hope for the same result.

“We are expecting to get the same amount or more people this year,” Platok said. “It kind of depends on how many people know about it, though.”

With 13 films already submitted, the festival is getting closer to its tally of 20 entries from last year.

Movies in all kinds of genres, like action, comedy or music videos, are submitted. There is one category in which a video montage is judged. The video montage is just a bunch of clips from previous movies or shows that are edited together.

Movies that have been submitted to this year’s festival include “The Projectionist,” a film by Daley which co-stars Platok, and even two movies by Northern Star employees, “A Hippie’s Lament,” by Weekender reporter Casey Toner and “Frustration,” by Assistant Weekender Editor Marcus Leshock.

The festival is scheduled to go a little something like this: an introduction by Daley, screenings of all the submitted films (which range from three to 37 minutes), intermission with refreshments and voting and the awards ceremony.

Immediately following the screenings, students are given the opportunity to vote on the best films in their respective categories. Two categories, Best Editing and Best Overall Production, are voted on by a panel of communication department professors.

Daley said professors judge the categories based on elements an average moviegoer may not be able to distinguish, such as screenwriting versus direction. Otherwise, students get to vote to “make it as fair as possible.”

Two new categories, bringing the total to 12, have been added to the judging process for this year’s festival: Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Daley said submissions still are being accepted because he also is a student and knows the pressures of class.

“People are constantly trying to get their movies in after deadline,” he said. “But I understand with trying to get homework done and finishing the film.”