Concordia students got a chance to learn from award-winning film industry experts who can tout credits like Netflix, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. on their resumes.
Communication studies professor Dr. Gregory Carlson arranged for directors, actors, writers, and producers in town as special guests for the Fargo Film Festival to speak with students. Carlson has been an integral part of the Fargo Film Festival since it got its start in 2001. He currently serves as the director of the multimedia journalism and film studies programs.
Director Emily Sheskin and producer Ben Kainz walked students through the process of making the feature they had screening at the festival, "JessZilla," from pitching through creation. Sheskin also detailed her commercial marketing work and documentary filmmaking, working with clients like Disney, Microsoft, and Niantic.
Director Mike Scholtz talked about short- and long-form creative nonfiction. His feature, "Iron Opera," screened at the festival. Scholtz is a filmmaker from northern Minnesota who grew up in Moorhead.
The week of special guests wrapped up with writer/producer/director/showrunner Mike Flanagan and writer/performer Kate Siegel sharing about their collaborations for Netflix, Amazon, and studios including Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount on projects like "Hush," “The Haunting of Hill House," "The Haunting of Bly Manor," "Midnight Mass," "Doctor Sleep," and others.
Students from Minnesota State University Moorhead also joined for some of the discussion.