Events
We host several events and speakers that connect students with the creative industry. Our guest speakers provide career insight and often give individual feedback to students through portfolio reviews. In addition, several annual events give students opportunities to showcase their work.
Annual Events
Red Eye Film Festival
Red Eye is a blitz filmmaking competition that we recently opened up to students from other colleges in Mankato.
FOMA (Festival of Media Arts)
The Festival of Media Arts is an annual showcase of the creative media produced by Bethany students. It occurs every spring.
Media Week
Media Week occurs on campus each year in the week preceding the international Speechless Film Festival (below). During media week the campus hosts a series of visiting industry professionals to talk about all areas of the creative industry.
Capstone Showcases
Each semester, graduating seniors present their capstone projects. Presentations typically include a range of work including short films and animations.
Featured Past Speakers
Speaker Series: Jim Cummings
Cummings is a writer/director/producer/actor who made Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2012. His feature film THUNDER ROAD won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW in 2018. The short film THUNDER ROAD won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. He lives in Los Angeles.
PromaxBDA Sponsored Speaker: Murphy Gilson
Gilson is the Emmy Award-winning creative director for Audience, DirecTV’s original content channel. Prior to that, he worked at Fox, TLC, and PBS, and for such clients as the NFL Network, Discovery, National Geographic Channel, ABC Family, G4, and GSN. He’s also an independent filmmaker, having created films that have been a part of festivals such as Cannes and Cinequest. He lives and works in Los Angeles.
Speaker Series: John (JJ) Murray
Murray is the Executive Director of the Upper Midwest Emmys. He has 20 years of experience in video, radio, and television broadcasting. In November 2012, Murray spoke to our students about visual storytelling.
Speaker Series: James Gladman
Gladman is currently a professor of motion graphics at Savannah College of Art and Design. Gladman has 15 years of experience as Creative Director and Art Director for online, film, and broadcast media with organizations in New York, Detroit, and Minneapolis. In November 2012, Gladman presented his commercial and experimental work before reviewing student portfolios.
Speaker Series: Jeff Boortz
Boortz is an Emmy award-winning creative director with over 20 years experience building brands in the entertainment industry. Boortz’s impressive roster of current and past clients includes Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, MTV, ESPN, HBO, CBS, NBC, FOX, A&E, Telemundo, BRAVO, Comcast, Charter Communications, and others. In September 2011, Boortz spoke with our students about his experiences and provided insight into the creative industry. He also spent time individually with students reviewing portfolios.
