- April 11, 2012
- 12:01 am
- khustad
Students; prof win big at BEA
Jake Brusha (middle), with Professor John Goheen looking over his shoulder.
A Mexican journalist seeking political asylum in the United States after being targeted by drug cartels. A twenty-something nun working in Chicago only years after being a college co-ed. A whimsical journey through a semester abroad in Rome set to an original song. What do these stories have in common? Each were made into documentaries and movies by Loyola students and faculty and were honored with awards at the 2012 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts.
The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an annual international festival celebrating broadcast and media talent, both at the student and faculty level. They offer awards in eight categories, and Loyola had winners in the Student Video Competition, Student Documentary Competition, and Faculty Documentary Competition: Short Form Category. Read on to hear about their accomplishments.
Senior communication studies and international film and media studies major Kayla Branch
3rd place, Student Documentary Competition: Young Nun
Branch was originally supposed to do a short documentary on the project Sister Alicia Torres was working on. However, when Branch found out that Torres is in her mid-20s, she decided to turn the camera on the young woman behind the robes. The documentary Young Nun follows the life of Torres, a nun here in Chicago, who was an undergraduate student at Loyola several years ago. Branch is currently using the film as a sample of her work for job applications. She is hoping to get a job in videography or video editing.
Watch her video here.
Senior communications major, with minors in spanish and film, Jake Brusha
1st place, Student Video Competition Music Video: “Rome Has Fallen”
Brusha says during his semester abroad at the Rome Center, he filmed anything that interested him. Now that footage has earned him a first-place prize from BEA. Brusha, who created the music video for his former band Point Place, set video of iconic Roman destinations and local streets alongside staged footage of the band playing and recording the song. Brusha says he is surprised he won, because he wasn’t personally impressed by his work, though many others were. He is currently the Director of Media Arts with NewInk Design, where he produces promos and short commercials for clients, and eventually he hopes to work in television or movies.
Watch his video here.
Instructor at the School of Communication, John C.P. Goheen
Best of Competition, Faculty Documentary Competition Short Form Category: Witness: Fort Hancock
Many have heard of the violence by drug cartels against journalists in Mexico, but John C.P. Goheen has put a face to that violence on film. Goheen filmed the life of a Mexican print journalist who dared write about the activity of local drug lords and the Mexican military. As a result, the journalist’s life, and his son’s life, was threatened, and he feels the only way to stay safe is to seek political asylum in the United States. The short film, done for the series Witness on Al Jazeera English, follows the journalist as he applies for political asylum in light of his harrowing experiences and the effect of the violence on the Texas border town where he now lives. Goheen, who has a long standing relationship with Al Jazeera English, says this story seemed pertinent and compelling, and was happy to see his work recognized by peers. The documentary was originally broadcast on Al Jazeera in June, and now can be seen online.
Watch his video here.
For more information on the BEA Festival of Media Arts, click here.
