HU Returns to the BEA Festival with Even More Wins

For the second year in a row, Huntington University film, broadcast and animation students in Indiana and Arizona have garnered top awards at the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts. This year, Huntington University took second place in overall awards. 

With 15 total awards, Huntington University is the smallest school by population to make the top five awarded schools list. The top five awarded universities included Arizona State University (22 awards), Huntington University (15 awards), a tie between the University of Oklahoma (14 awards) and Missouri State University (14 awards), Liberty University (9 awards) and Pennsylvania State University (8 awards). 

This year’s competition included over 1,500 student entries from over 300 universities around the world. Of the 11 Best of Festival awards the BEA presents to students, Huntington University students claimed three, including the first ever Best of Festival award for Huntington University Arizona with Stephen Davis’ narrative piece Motions. Caitlyn Chase received a Best of Festival award for her animated work Pig Tails, and Jonathon Kane and James Ehle received the award for their narrative The Concourse. 

"Landing three Best of Festival awards along with the other 12 top awards in film, animation, and broadcasting at the BEA festival of the arts is an incredible achievement,” said Dr. Lance Clark, associate dean of the arts and professor of digital media arts at Huntington University. “I’m reminded how blessed we are to have such excellent faculty and students in our DMA program, both in Huntington and now at our Arizona Center."

In addition to the three Best of Festival awards, Huntington University students garnered two first-place awards, three second-place awards, one third-place award, and six Awards of Excellence. Adam Widener, assistant professor of digital media arts/broadcast media, received an Award of Excellence for his documentary film The Promise. 

“To have our DMA Center in Arizona contributing with four BEA awards again this year definitely helps legitimize the work that we’re putting in in the classrooms and out in the field,” said Phil Wilson, Arizona digital media arts program director. “We talk about that word ‘excellence’ at the Center and doing things with ‘excellence.’ It’s one thing to talk about it, it’s another to have a panel of judges made up of industry professionals see the work that your students are doing and say, ‘yes, this is excellent.’”

The Broadcast Educators Association Festival of Media Arts is a competitive festival open to BEA individual faculty and student members. Competition ranges from dramatic narratives to non-fiction documentary and news to the frontiers of interactive multimedia. This year’s awards presentation will take place during the BEA's annual convention on April 8 in Las Vegas.

Huntington University took home the following honors and awards:

Student Film & Video Competition Best of Festival 2019
Best of Festival: Caitlyn Chase, Huntington University; Pig Tails
Animation/Experimental/Mixed Category

Student Two-Year/Small College Competition Best of Festival 
Stephen Davis, Huntington University Arizona; Motions

Narrative/Live: Narrative Category
Student Film & Video Competition Best of Festival 2019

Jonathon Kane & James Ehle, Huntington University; The Concourse
Narrative Category

1st Place: Benjamin Crane & James Ehle, Huntington University; Refuge
Promotional/Educational/Non-Narrative Category; Student Scriptwriting Competition

1st Place: Mary Devore, Huntington University; System Error
Short Subject Category, Student Scriptwriting Competition

2nd Place: Kourteney Biddle, Huntington University; Threaded Secrets
Animation/Experimental/Mixed Category, Student Film & Video Competition

2nd Place: Emerald Leong, Huntington University Arizona; Mile 248
Narrative/Live: Narrative Category, Two-Year/Small Colleges Competition

2nd Place: Joe Stone & Nicole Wethington, Huntington University Arizona, Wonderfully Made
Promotional/Educational/Non-Narrative Category, Two-Year/Small Colleges Competition

3rd Place: Josiah Hunt, Huntington University Arizona, Eden’s Moon
Narrative/Live: Narrative Category, Two-Year/Small Colleges Competition

Award of Excellence: Richan Anderson, Sara Mark & Jon Mayer, Huntington University, The Reunion
Narrative/Live: Narrative Category, Two-Year/Small Colleges Competition

Award of Excellence: Jonathon Kane & James Ehle, Huntington University; The Concourse
Short Subject Category, Student Scriptwriting Competition

Award of Excellence: Jesse Maestrian & Alex Maestrian, Huntington University; Candy Vale Promo
Promotional Category, Student Film & Video Competition

Award of Excellence: Shelby Price, Charles Lowry, Sean McClelland & Emma Anderson-Wise, Huntington University; Ticket
Music Video Category, Student Film & Video Competition

Award of Excellence: Jacob Salsbury, Kendall Adams, Noah Stinson & Clint Sprunger, Huntington University, Habitat for Humanity Animated PSA #3
Spots Category, Student Film & Video Competition

Award of Excellence: Adam Widener, Huntington University; The Promise
Short Form Video or Film Documentary Category, Faculty Documentary Competition

Visit the BEA Festival of Media Arts website for a full list of awards.