Student’s Film Wins Hearts And Awards At Festival

December 6, 2009 by John Rook

When Cheshire High School freshman Alicia Dunlop saw an advertisement for a local film festival contest, things just seemed to click.
The teenager, always interested in video production, had been planning to develop a music video for a family friend looking to reach new audiences with his music. The video, Dunlop hoped, would provide some much-needed exposure to the friend while also allowing her to engage in an activity she always finds fun and rewarding.
But, when reading the particulars of the Connecticut PetFlix Film Festival, she realized it could be the perfect vehicle to accomplish her goals.
“When you listen to music, a lot of times you can picture it in your head,” said Dunlop. “It is always nice to be able to bring it to life sometimes.”
Working diligently throughout October, Dunlop produced the four-minute film, “Gonna Be Good,” based on the song of the same name, written by local musician Leejay Rudenjak. The short musical narrative depicts Dunlop finding a stray dog and bringing her home to begin a new life with a loving family.
The combination of music and a sentimental story was enough to impress judges at the festival, so much so that Dunlop’s video earned top honors for the four-minute video category at the festival.
“It was exciting, it really was,” admitted Dunlop. “When I was putting (the video) together, I didn’t think about winning anything. I just wanted to make a good video, that’s all.”
During the video, Dunlop is shown walking on the Linear Trail in Cheshire when she comes upon a homeless dog. The canine, played by Dunlop’s own dog, Maggie, is wet and appears lonely and abandoned.
Taking pity on the dog, Dunlop takes her new friend home, dries her off, and is then shown taking the dog for a walk and teaching her new tricks. At the end of the film, the two are sharing a Popsicle.
“I thought it would be a good idea to have someone lonely and sad, finding this dog,” explained Dunlop. “That was what I was looking to put on screen.”
Shooting began in October and it took a short amount of time to get things right. However, after all the scenes had been put on film, Dunlop had to then edit the video to fit the festival’s guidelines and to move in conjunction with the music.
“We only met once a week to work on everything,” said Dunlop, who went through the video with Rudenjak to make sure everything meshed well together. “We spent hours on it, but it really didn’t take that long. It was a lot of fun putting it together.”
When finalized, the video was submitted to the festival, where five judges viewed the finished product to make their recommendations.
In the end, Dunlop’s video was chosen over 10 other entries in the same category, many of which originated from different parts of the country.
“They called when I was gone to say I had won,” Dunlop recalled. “I found out when I came home. I was really excited and completely surprised.”
The announcement that Dunlop had won was only one part of the award, however. To recognize her and the other winners of the festival’s different categories, a showing of each honored film was scheduled for Nov. 21 at Showcase Cinemas in North Haven.
“That was terrific,” Dunlop admitted. “To see the video up there on the big screen was amazing.”
It also allowed Dunlop the opportunity to see other participants’ videos for the first time. “I loved all of them,” she said. “They were all wonderful.”
While Dunlop still enjoys developing videos, she admits that it remains simply a hobby, albeit one she can envision maintaining for many years.
“I look at many of the videos on YouTube.com and many of them are very artistic,” said Dunlop. “That’s kind of what I would like to do.”