IU Cinema was filled with around 50 students and Bloomington residents eager to celebrate and watch student-produced short films during the Montage Film Festival on Friday night. The festival, hosted by the Media School and IU Cinema, highlighted students’ hard work, creativity and dedication toward their craft.
The event featured screenings of 12 entries as well as awards recognizing students' achievements in categories including best cinematography, best performance and best director. A panel of IU alumni and the Student Cinema Guild, a student organization dedicated to producing and enjoying film, judged the films. The best in show award was decided by audience vote after the screenings.
The Student Cinema Guild selected the films, which were submitted through March 2. To be eligible, films were required to have been produced by IU undergraduate or graduate students, completed between January 2025 and March 2 and run less than 20 minutes. Additionally, the festival kept technical requirements minimal to give more students the opportunity to showcase their work.
Joy Luther, a senior majoring in theater and media, said she was excited to be in the audience for her third Montage Film Festival. Luther, who appears in “Allure” and “Racket Abuse,” said her favorite part of the festival is getting to appreciate the hard work of student filmmakers.
“Just to see all the films and all the hard work that everybody put into them,” Luther said. “I think that’s my favorite part about Montage, just seeing everything come together.”
Sofie Cabrera, a senior majoring in film, television and digital production, said she did set dressing for “BL1NK” and served as script supervisor and production designer for “Racket Abuse.” She said the latter project was filmed in May 2025 and the team only saw the final cut about two months ago.
“I’m so excited,” Cabrera said. “I always have so much fun watching all the films, even the ones I wasn’t a part of.”
After the screenings, the winners in each category were announced. Each winner came to the stage, received a replica Oscar and posed for a photo with the award. “Cascade,” directed by sophomore Dmitry N. Aslanov-Ohler, won the most awards, including best score and composition, best sound design and best production design.
Other winners included “Kansas” for best editing, “Escape” for best cinematography, “Allure” for best performance, “Cogito, Ergo Sum” for best director and best nonfiction and “Racket Abuse” for best fiction. Additionally, the audience choice award, which also served as best in show, was given to “Racket Abuse.”
Ellie Senter, a freshman majoring in statistics, and Lu Harper, a recent IU graduate, said they came to support friends involved in the festival. Both said they especially enjoyed “Kansas,” which centers on processing the escalating grief of losing a grandparent. Harper also said the documentary entries stood out, including “Just Penelope Band Doc,” which showcased the local band’s passion and friendship through rehearsals, live performances and conversations with its members.
Senter said she felt a personal connection to “Kansas.”
“‘Kansas,’ which was the second one, definitely felt very close to home because it dealt with my grandmother,” Senter said. “So seeing that made into a film felt very personal to me, and it really hit.”
Harper said they especially enjoyed seeing the work of people they know in Bloomington’s arts community and were surprised to spot a friend in “Just Penelope Band Doc.”
“I’ve lived here for a while, so I know a lot of people in different art scenes, and it was cool to see my friends’ work,” Harper said. “One of my friends was in the band in ‘Just Penelope Band Doc,’ and I did not even know he was in a film that was being shown tonight. Then my best friend made ‘Kansas,’ so it was really awesome to get to see his work and support him.”
The Montage Film Festival is expected to return next year, with student submissions typically opening in early spring.
