The Contest
Ilan entered the Every Film a Startup program at Cleveland State that had a film contest going on for creators to make a five minute short film. Since he is a film major, Ilan got to work right away all the meanwhile eyeing to reach one of the top three spots in the contest. In his hometown over in New York, he managed to plan, film, and edit the film, from a remote setting of course. Once the films were ready, the contestants had to do an elevator pitch of it to a panel of four judges on Friday the 21st.
The Result
This past Friday afternoon, Ohio Nu brother Ilan Cardenas-Silverstein received better news than he could have imagined. His film, Equal Opportunity, received 2nd place in the Every Film a Startup program. The fun does not stop there. Ilan winning second place also meant he won the $700 prize that came with it.
The Duration
Ilan had this to say about the meticulous process that went into making his film, and the emotion he felt after finding out the news. “This was a 5 minute max short film that had about four weeks of production time. I was working alone in New York City, thankfully with an editor and business consultant at CSU. I had to create both the film and a business pitch justifying the film as a successful product. It was difficult, I had to figure out the best way to I needed to tell with all the limitations. As a freshman, I didn’t expect to get that close to victory. I was really grateful to be part of the Every Film a Startup program and feel amazing that I was able to accomplish so much with a very personal film.” Much admiration goes out to Ilan for such an achievement accomplished in a very difficult time; the true embodiment of what SigEp is all about.
Where to Watch
You can view Ilan’s acclaimed film Equal Opportunity in the link down below.