On Thursday, April 19, a team of four Communication Arts students from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania won the Best Use of Prop award for their original film, Ms. Mason, at the 2nd annual 48HR DubC Film Race (48HRFR), hosted by West Chester University. More than 20 teams entered in the creative arts competition, and the award was announced on review results from four established media professionals including Courtland Bragg, an Emmy Award-winning journalist.

The Cheyney team consisted of Comm. Arts juniors and seniors: Rick Patrick (Director, Cameraman, Editor), Temiloya Milton (Producer, Actress), Kelvonn Hucks (Assistant Producer, Actor), and Tazha Mathews (Actress, Writer, Art Director). The group was arranged by Dr. Kim, Assistant Professor of Communication Arts, and Prof. Amachi, who served as the coordinators of the event at Cheyney University.

The 48HRFR is a 48-hour student video competition, open to current Cheyney and West Chester students, that tasked participants to collaborate with their peers to write, shoot, edit and produce a three to five minute film in just 48 hours. Following competition registration, the student teams also drew, at random, key elements to be featured in their film, including the genre and highlighted prop (the Cheyney team received the horror genre and a French baguette as their prop).

And, as if this weren’t enough, submission criteria lastly called for all films to include a line of dialogue originating from the Hungarian proverb, “She who wakes up early finds gold.”

The talented group of emerging filmmakers tackled the race with ease, and ultimately produced the five-minute film, Ms. Mason that Assistant Producer Kelvonn Hucks describes as “a horror film with an apocalyptic twist.”

The Film Race took place from Friday, April 6 at 7:00 pm through Sunday, April 8. To check out the Cheyney team’s film, and other submissions from the 2018 48 Hour DubC Film Face, visit YouTube.