{"id":18937,"date":"2020-11-17T13:04:13","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T13:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=18937"},"modified":"2025-04-09T10:23:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T17:23:46","slug":"award-winning-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2020\/11\/17\/award-winning-film","title":{"rendered":"UW Bothell film medals at Berlin festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/banner.jpg\" alt=\"Delirium promo art\" class=\"wp-image-25789\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Delirium&#8221; still photos and art courtesy of Masahiro Sugano and Anida Yoeu Ali<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By Douglas Esser<br> A film produced remotely by University of Washington Bothell students \u2014 who didn\u2019t meet face to face because of pandemic restrictions \u2014 won a medal at the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival in Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDelirium\u201d was produced as a class project by eight students in the spring quarter Competitive Filmmaking course taught by Masahiro Sugano, artist in residence in the <a href=\"\/ias\">School of Interdisciplinary Arts &amp; Sciences<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The festival\u2019s artistic director and one of the judges, Thomas Zandegiacomo, said the students studied the poem and incorporated a wealth of subtle images and allusions in their interpretation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is what makes the film so special, and you enjoy discovering new things in the film,\u201d Zandegiacomo said. \u201cThe film does not just reproduce the words of the poem but adds another level to it. The whole thing also takes place in a very fresh and new film language. By shifting the plot into our everyday life or into an apartment, the film brings the distant images and metaphors of the poem very close to us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8216;Delirium&#8217;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\n    <div class=\"responsive-embed widescreen\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Delirium (7:29min Festival Cut) \/\/ A short film based on the poem &quot;Lethe&quot; by Tjawangwa Dema\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rfBEKuDV1G8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>    <\/div>\n\n    \n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ZEBRA <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Held every two years, the ZEBRA festival invites short films based on poems. It had more than 2,000 entries for 2020. In addition, this year the festival invited interpretations of the poem <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyrikline.org\/en\/poems\/lethe-10308\">\u201cLethe\u201d<\/a> by the Botswana poet Tjawangwa Dema. In Greek mythology, Lethe is the personification of oblivion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/festival-logo.jpg\" alt=\"Film festival poster\" class=\"wp-image-25790\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Delirium&#8221; was selected as one of the three best films that used audio of the poem read by Dema. The other winners were from schools in Germany and Poland. Ordinarily, the winning filmmakers would have been invited to Berlin for a showing and discussion with the poet during the festival, Nov. 19-22. Because of the coronavirus, all the showings shifted online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7-minute film  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/worm.jpg\" alt=\"Still photo of worm from \" class=\"wp-image-25791\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Still from &#8220;Delirium&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The seven-minute \u201cDelirium\u201d mostly presents the point of view of the main character \u2014 seeing objects in her hands as she goes through the process of making morning coffee and pouring a bowl of cereal and milk. The sequence is repeated with disturbing variations, interspersed with dream-like animations to sounds of the spoken poem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a normal breakfast, in the next version there are earthworms in the coffee grounds. Next time, the cereal turns into nuts and bolts. Then, the carton of milk becomes engine oil. Oddly, the main character accepts the changes as part of her routine.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt gets weirder and weirder,\u201d said Sugano. A quiet ending makes viewers think about what happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Multiple roles <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/thelma.jpg\" alt=\"Thelma Tunyi in \" class=\"wp-image-25792\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thelma Tunyi in &#8220;Delirium&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thelma Tunyi, the only person seen in the film, stars and was a director, the cinematographer and an animator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To record herself, Tunyi wore a helmet rigged up with a camera. Like other parts of the production, scenes often had to be redone to meet the artistic standards of Sugano, who the students call Sensei, or teacher. The hard work was worth it because creating a film that could compete in festivals gave her confidence, Tunyi said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s amazing what everyone did through Zoom. It\u2019s unbelievable when you think about it now,\u201d she said. \u201cIt shows you everything is possible if you set your mind to it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Team Delirium <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\n    <div class=\"responsive-embed widescreen\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Team Delirium Acceptance Speech\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/akk7bfMaPXk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>    <\/div>\n\n    \n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The producer, Chelsea Moser connected everyone and kept them on schedule. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of everyone and everything they achieved because I was like the manager, and it\u2019s phenomenal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shanley Fermin was the other director and film editor. Brianna Hinds was one of the art directors and one of three music and sound designers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yidong Lin and Ramilya Salem were animators along with Tunyi. Salem also operated the rotoscope animation tool. Krystal Wan was responsible for sound effects as well as music and sound design, along with Hinds and Lin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All but two of the filmmakers were 2020 graduates in Media &amp; Communication Studies. Lin and Wan are current MCS seniors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Embracing the challenge <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/eyes.jpg\" alt=\"Drawing of eyes, a still from the filmA s\" class=\"wp-image-25793\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A still from &#8220;Delirium&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The writers, Moser and Jonathan Wiedemann, who also was an art director, interpreted the poem with ideas of repetition and the deterioration of memory, Moser said. \u201cI read it more as the endless loop you can get into in your mind and what that looks like.\u201d The film also could be interpreted as related to the pandemic, Moser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Isolation was incorporated into the production, which reflects Sugano\u2019s philosophy of filmmaking: When you encounter adversity, make it the center of your art. If you only have two colors on your palette, make a two-color painting. If you don\u2019t have the lead actor, build a story that\u2019s missing the main character, said Sugano, who has been at UW Bothell since 2017.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cVery often we have attachments to a notion and complain about what we don\u2019t have \u2014 what we think we should have. Instead, if you don\u2019t have it, show it. Make that the center of the story,\u201d Sugano said. \u201cWe turned our challenge into the core of our aesthetic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sugano teaches filmmaking and Japanese popular culture history courses for students majoring in Media &amp; Communication Studies. Sugano\u2019s studio partner, Anida Yoeu Ali, an IAS senior artist in residence, helped design the course, promoted the film and is entering it in more festival competitions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Professional work <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sensei.jpg\" alt=\"Masahiro Sugano\" class=\"wp-image-25794\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Masahiro Sugano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This was Sugano\u2019s first time teaching Competitive Filmmaking. The goal was to win festival medals that students can cite in their resumes or portfolios for employers. \u201cI really want to help the students with that. I want them to be able to say, \u2018This is what I accomplished,\u2019\u201d Sugano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He ran the project as a real film production company. Text messages about the work often continued into late nights and weekends.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to lead a small group of students to produce something of very good quality,\u201d he said. \u201cWith this class, the level was extremely high.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Winning the ZEBRA award is testimony that students can meet standards recognized outside the school, Sugano said. \u201cI wanted to put the product first and then see what they could learn, and I think they learned a great deal.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Professional career <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The experience was the deciding factor for Moser to work in film full time. She recently completed work on a national commercial.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \u201cI really worked with Sensei in a director-producer relationship rather than a student-teacher relationship. He taught me a lot about the dynamics of being in an actual film crew and what that could look like and feel like and what your responsibilities are,\u201d she said. \u201cHe really pushed us to see if we could handle it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think it was invaluable. I learned stuff I would have never learned in a normal classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/bottom.jpg\" alt=\"Still from \" class=\"wp-image-25795\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Still from &#8220;Delirium&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&ldquo;Delirium,&rdquo; produced by students who didn&rsquo;t meet in person because of the pandemic, won a medal at the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival in Berlin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,253,211,204],"tags":[256],"school":[419],"class_list":["post-18937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news","category-global-impact","category-honors-and-awards","category-students","tag-film","school-school-of-ias"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UW Bothell film medals at Berlin festival - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2020\/11\/17\/award-winning-film\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UW Bothell film medals at Berlin festival - News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&ldquo;Delirium,&rdquo; 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