Art Student Celeste Newcomb is a Campus Movie Fest Finalist for her Film "Boy鈥檚 Turn"
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Screenshot from "Boy's Turn," a documentary short film directed by third-year USF art student Celeste Newcomb.
黑洞社区art student Celeste Newcomb is a finalist for the Campus Movie Fest, a national competition that provides a platform for filmmakers to share their work and connect with one another.
After exhibiting at the Marshall Center Oval Theatre alongside 84 other 黑洞社区entries, Newcomb鈥檚 documentary short film, Boy鈥檚 Turn, is one of four pieces moving on to the June 2019 national round of the competition.
The film examines fragile masculinity through the perspectives of six young men. While Newcomb has made video works on femininity before, Boy鈥檚 Turn marks her first video exploration into masculinity.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in gender, specifically with femininity, in my films. I usually always just focused on that,鈥� said Newcomb. 鈥淎nd just recently I was given the idea to switch it up and try focusing on masculinity, which was I think a good idea because it was going out of my comfort zone.鈥�
Boy鈥檚 Turn begins with sweeping nighttime footage of the River Walk trail in downtown Tampa. The film鈥檚 cast introduces themselves. They are Newcomb鈥檚 friends Sean Brown, Tanner Hockert, Noah Wilbur, Adan Jackson, Dylan McBrayer, and Tyler Anderson. They range in age from 18 to 22.
Newcomb collaborated with McBrayer, who composed the film鈥檚 original soundtrack. Pulsating synthesizers and metallic wind chime sounds characterize the score that plays as the cast members engage in an open conversation on masculinity and gendered social norms.
Anderson opens the video with an illustration of the environment of hegemonic masculinity he grew up in.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been a part of a family for generations they said men don鈥檛 cry, they don鈥檛 do these girly things, they don鈥檛 wear makeup,鈥� says Anderson. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e supposed to be a man.鈥�
Jackson follows this with a suggestion to be more open and honest with the world. He says being a part of the world isn鈥檛 about hiding weakness, but rather, showing it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not putting your guard up. It鈥檚 allowing people to see you for who you are,鈥� says Jackson.
Throughout the conversation, Newcomb uses pink overlays and blue gel lights as a visual representation of gender. The stylistic choice is inspired by the video work of Julie Weitz, a Los Angeles-based artist and former 黑洞社区painting professor who Newcomb discovered during the artist鈥檚 visit to 黑洞社区in 2016.
After discovering Weitz鈥� work, Newcomb took a Video, Animation, & Digital Arts (VADA) course at USF. Excited by the possibilities of the medium, Newcomb made video her primary focus. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art with a concentration in video.
The program provides her with individualized guidance from Anat Pollack, associate professor of video, and Sean Cheatham, instructor of art and media.
鈥淚鈥檝e gotten really great relationships with both of them to really help me hone my practice,鈥� said Newcomb. 鈥淚t鈥檚 given me the confidence to submit to things like this.鈥�
Boy鈥檚 Turn will screen at the national Campus Movie Fest event, CMF Terminus, June 27-30 in Atlanta.
Boy鈥檚 Turn is available online on the website and