USF Students Win Best Film Award TAMPA (WUSF) - Most movie buffs know the strong reputation of film schools like NYU and USC. But despite their renowned status, students from a local university that doesn't have a film school won top honors in this year's International Campus Movie Fest.

"Rhapsody" is a film written, directed and produced by Sarah Wilson and a team of friends and college students. The five minute film was a finalist in this year's International Campus MovieFest Grand Finale held in Los Angeles.

Wilson and her team from the University of South Florida won the Best Picture award beating out nearly 75,000 participants from colleges across the nation according to the competition's web site.

One reason why Sean Brown, a member of Wilson's team, was so mystified by the win is because USF was vying against students from established film schools.

"I think it speaks to the creativity and drive of a lot of the students here," Brown said. He's hoping their award will help to get a film school established at USF.

The Campus MovieFest bills itself as the largest such competition of its kind. College students produce film shorts and then compete at the local, regional and national level for awards.

The annual contest is considered an outlet for budding filmmakers and is attracting support from people in the industry.

"They had a really well known panel of judges, people like Sean Connery, Amy Ryan like watching our film," Wilson said. "It was really cool to know that it was judged by professionals."

Wilson and her team took the "red-eye" home arriving at Tampa International Airport just after 5:30 Wednesday morning. Shannon Stewart, a USF theater major who played the lead role of Sadie, has her own theory on why the USF film won.

"I think because they could see all the hard work and all the time that was put into production," Stewart said.

To watch the award-winning USF student film "Rhapsody," click here.
© Copyright 2009, WUSF