The Fourth Annual FOCUSFest begins at 7 p.m. tonight at MuvicoPeabody Place 22.
University of Memphis students and alumni will be screeningtheir films as part of the student film and video festival.
The festival received well over 30 entries, said Barbara Cook,FOCUSFest director and assistant communication professor at The Uof M.
"We want to reach out and encompass the works of all students,"Cook said.
U of M graduate and film director Brad Ellis said that thefestival is an important component of studying and makingfilms.
"The filmmaking process isn't complete until you sit down withan audience," he said. "It can be rewarding or very frustrating,but it defines who you are or what you will become as afilmmaker."
Ellis will be showing his film Hustled 2 at the festivalWednesday at 9:30 p.m.
"It's about a couple of pool hustlers going to Vegas for the bigscore," said Ellis, the film's director. "Their vengefulex-girlfriends, whom they didn't pick up for prom, are trying tostop them."
"We've got some of the best films from our graduate students andworks representing beginning filmmakers," she said.
Eric Yang's The First Generation will be shown at this year'sfestival.
"This is an extraordinary film," said Cook. "It looks at howChinese nationals are finding themselves in the United States."
Das Corpse a film by several U of M graduate film students willalso be shown at tonight's festival.
Cook said that the advances and increased availability indigital technology have produced very polished, high quality workfrom U of M students.
FOCUSFest begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, at MuvicoPeabody Place 22. Admission is free. There is a post-festival partyat Dan McGuinness in Peabody Place.
