With intense interrogations, feel-good moments, seamlessly choreographed fight scenes, heart-wrenching dialogue, and even absurd bloopers, these student films ran the gamut.
The 3rd Kennesaw Film Festival experienced a major upgrade this year. From previously taking place in a social science classroom to hosting the event in a spacious auditorium with a theatrical atmosphere, the 2025 Kennesaw Film Festival was a much-anticipated event at KSU. By the time the doors were ready to open, a line could be seen down the hall as guests cued up to dive into this annual event.
Joining the festival this year was the 2025 special guest Chris Escobar, executive director of the Atlanta Film Festival, which boasts as one of the largest and longest-running film festivals in the U.S. As the guest speaker, Escobar shared his own journey of how he joined the Atlanta Film Festival’s board of directors. He also gave advice to student filmmakers (which was covered in more detail at the festival’s prior Networking Event).
According to audience members, the quality of the films greatly exceeded their expectations. With intense interrogations, feel-good moments, seamlessly choreographed fight scenes, heart-wrenching dialogue, and even absurd bloopers, these student films ran the gamut.The screenings were refreshingly diverse, with ratings ranging from G -R and even visual quality ranging from shot-on-my-iPhone to I-skipped-meals-to-buy-this-camera (with the latter being more common).
This year’s program screened Hunting Bigfoot, Hawk’s Pass, Our Lita, Level 1, Taking it to the Streets, Road Trip, Filling the Gaps: Hope Through Simple Needs Georgia, The Butcher, Clue, and 21 Coals. The2025 award winners can be seen on the festival’s Instagram.
While the 3rd Kennesaw Film Festival featured films made independently by KSU students and alumni, it also featured films made by KSU’s student organization For Film’s Sake. Any KSU student can join For Film’s Sake and participate in the process of making films such as the Kennesaw Film Festival’s Road Trip, Clue, and even the Audience Award-winning 21 Coals.
When it came time for audiences to vote, it’s understandable why the Audience Award went to 21 Coals—a suspenseful comedy of a collegestudent’s revenge on Santa Clause, featuring an unexpected fight scene and an absurd “call the cocks” blooper. Audience members also engaged with the filmmakers in a Q&A session.
The Kennesaw Film Festival was founded and now directed by Prof. Sangsun Choi and is part of the Radow College’s School of Communication and Media (SOCM). It serves as a platform for any KSU student or alumni to enter for a chance to have their workscreened, regardless of the student’s major, grade, or experience.
In an interview with filmmaker and KSU alumni Sean Hatten prior to the festival, he shared his experiences that led him to write, edit, and direct Hunting Bigfoot, encouraging filmmakers to “experiment a lot more even if you don’t succeed. Just try weird stuff. Try abstract stuff.”
He also discussed his journey making and submitting the film, “Even if I’m not accepted into it or if I don’t win it, it’s still fun to be a part of all these other people and just sharing that experience of we’ve all made something were really proud of and passionate about.” Hatten said.
Hunting Bigfoot was accepted into the festival and won the Best Narrative Award.
With the popularity of the festival steadily rising, appearances of notorious figures, and the new upgrades being made to the event, the festival only seems to be growing and gaining momentum at KSU as a hub of ingenuity.
