Images Festival Makes On-Campus Return For First Time in Eight Years

On Saturday, April 5, Seton Hall’s College of Human Development, Culture and Media presented “Images ’25” in the University Center’s Theatre. A revival of the original Images festival, which began in 1980, this year’s edition marked the first on-campus event in eight years. Throughout its history, the event has celebrated the work of Seton Hall film and video students from both the past and present. This year’s program featured screenings of current work of alumni and current students, an alumni panel and a feature presentation. All four parts of the event were followed by a question and answer session.

The first part of the event was screenings of work by 15 Seton Hall alumni from various years, showcasing a wide range of content from the History Channel to the Hallmark Channel. Eight different alumni were in attendance and participated in the question and answer session afterwards. Then, it was the alumni panel which consisted of Danielle Pisano ’02, an Emmy award-winning producer; Marc Reda ’10, the owner of Reda Productions and a producer for the History Channel; Christine De La Rosa-Stotz ’12, an award-winning director at Vice; and Michael Finan ’84, an Emmy award-winning director and producer in corporate and documentary production. Screening of current students’ work was next up on the schedule, with 16 student productions shown to the crowd, followed by a question and answer session and a dessert reception.

“Seeing my film on the big screen was such a glorious experience. I'm very happy to have witnessed it with my friends, family and my loved ones,” said senior Farnsworth Hendrickson. “In the future, I hope to share many more features of my films with many others.”

Concluding the event was the feature presentation Against the Spread which was produced by Seton Hall Professor Tom Rondinella, M.F.A. The movie took place in the rural South, telling the story of a down-and-out gambling addict that reignited a rivalry with a loan shark to finance his nephew’s scheme. Rondinella and the movie’s writer, director and star, Mitchell Cole, took part in the question and answer session which wrapped up the event. “The day was well attended and well received,” Rondinella said. “Plans are already underway for next year’s edition.”

Categories: Arts and Culture