The lights are dimmed, the theater is filled and the red carpet has been walked. But it’s not just any old film screening; it’s Greenville’s tenth annual Reedy Reels film festival.
Reedy Reels has been a staple in the Upstate community for a decade now, and this weekend’s festival pulled no punches in its lineup. The festival gave all levels of artists a chance to be involved, screening high school and college-made films earlier on Saturday morning and films that won Indie Grants later in the day.
The festival also hosted multiple educational portions including Q&A sessions with industry veterans, including Emmy-winning director Justin Wheelon.
Notably for Tigers, this year’s festival featured films worked on by Clemson students, including some students in the University’s world cinema program.
Bri Thomas, a junior world cinema major, was one of the driving forces behind “Million Dollar Man,” one of the films screened Saturday night.
“My role in the film was assistant director alongside Charlie Crassais.” Thomas told The Tiger. “Since it was such a small set, everyone got to dabble in each ‘department,’ so to speak. My favorite thing to do was probably apply fake blood.”
Previously, the film had been screened at Clemson as part of the fall 2024 student film showcase, as it was originally created for the University’s Filmmaking for Mobile Media class.
“We were assigned random groups and given creative freedom with the only restriction being a time limit of 15 minutes,” Thomas said. “Director David Wattanakone had the vision for ‘Million Dollar Man’ and did a lot of the prep work.”
The film culminates in a court hearing, which the team managed to shoot in an actual courtroom.
“The most obvious obstacle was acquiring a courtroom to film our final sequence in, but thankfully, Pendleton Town Hall allowed us to rent out the room,” Thomas said.
Wattanakone submitted the film to Reedy Reels once it was done, and the film was accepted.
“It is an honor having our film screened at Reedy Reels, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to represent the Clemson World Cinema program to a wider community,” Thomas said.
The next day, the Clemson Film Club’s film “Larry” screened as part of the college film program. Club members worked to complete the film last semester before it premiered at Reedy Reels.
“There were some really high-quality films shown, and it was a privilege being included,” said club president Molly Tippey, a senior marketing and art double major. “Watching the films gave me lots of inspiration for possible production ideas and work arounds, especially since Film Club does essentially zero-budget filmmaking.”
Be sure to catch the film fest next year and see what creative Tigers’ work will be on display.
