USM Student Relishes Rare Opportunity to Participate in Telluride Film Festival
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 02:17pm | By: Van Arnold
Movies – especially the memorable ones – provide a unique way of transporting viewers
to imaginary places. Little did University of Southern Mississippi (USM) student Zain
Hashmat know that a modest essay would send him to one of the world’s more acclaimed
film festivals.
Hashmat, a junior film major at USM’s Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, recently returned from a week-long “dream” experience as a participant in the 2019 Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium. He was one of only 50 students selected globally to attend the symposium.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I would be accepted into the symposium,” he said. “Never in a million years would I ever think that a short essay I wrote on a whim would get me a ticket to attend the highly sought-after program. Considering all the applicants that apply each year and schools that these accepted students usually come from, I wasn’t really expecting a slot in the program at all.”
Hashmat, a Meridian, Miss., native, composed his essay from a simple question on the symposium application: What film matters most to you and why? Hashmat chose Director Billy Wilder’s 1960 masterpiece, “The Apartment,” featuring Academy Award winners Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine.
The film follows an ambitious, kind-hearted minor clerk at an insurance company who tries to climb the corporate ladder by allowing executives to use his apartment for trysts.
“The Apartment is really one of the all-time great films, I think,” said Hashmat. “It is a gloriously open film that is at times cynical and endearing, brimming with belief and chock full of doubt. One second you’re cracking up, the next second you’re reaching for the tissue box trying to stop the waterfalls. There’s so much soaring emotion running through every frame; so much cinematic beauty in every moment, that one can’t help but fall in love with the picture.”
Held annually in Telluride, Colo., the acclaimed Telluride Film Festival wrapped up its 46th edition last month. The festival’s Student Programs present students the opportunity to experience film as an art and expand participants’ worldview through film screenings and filmmaker discussions. The Student Symposium provides 50 graduate and undergraduate college students with a weekend-long immersion in cinema.
Dr. Kevin Walker, Director of the Academic Success Center at USM’s Gulf Park campus, cannot recall another USM student being selected for the prestigious film festival. Hashmat works under Walker’s supervision in the Academic Success Center.
“With only 50 student slots available globally, I was absolutely blown away by the fact that Zain was one of the chosen applicants,” said Walker. “I think it speaks volumes about his outstanding writing abilities and commitment to excellence. Zain is constantly looking for opportunities to hone his craft – both as a writer and a filmmaker. He has repeatedly sought opportunities to learn more about his chosen profession and to become involved in meaningful ways.”
While the experience afforded Hashmat a priceless opportunity to witness the best in worldwide filmmaking, Walker notes that USM’s film program benefited as well.
“Zain’s participation in the Telluride Festival provided a unique platform to extend what he has been learning here at Southern Miss to the real world,” said Walker. “I’m sure he saw things discussed in his courses come alive in ways he never expected while at the festival. I also think it’s very ‘telling’ that a student from Southern Miss was selected to participate. We have an excellent program. This was a great platform to literally ‘let the world know’ how awesome our film program is at Southern Miss Gulf Park.”
For his part, Hashmat conveyed that he could probably write a screenplay about a once-in-a-lifetime chance to cash in a ticket he never expected to win.
The talented wordsmith and budding filmmaker offered this assessment:
“I don’t think I can overestimate how wonderful the experience was. It was like a dream. All I did was watch incredible films, meet the best filmmakers and talk movies with some of the most passionate cinephiles in the world. We’d walk the street of this small ski town as gorgeous mountains reached into the sky, towering over us as we hurried from one screening to the other. Five whole days of nothing but breathing, seeing and living cinema. It was like a film lover’s haven, an oasis made just for the most movie obsessed people from all around the globe. Honestly, the opportunity went above and beyond my expectations.”
As far as goals are concerned, Hashmat assumes a humble outlook.
“I’m kind of afraid to say since the goals I’m reaching for seem so stupidly unattainable,” he said. “However, I think I feel safe in saying that all I’m trying to do is become a better filmmaker every day.”
To learn more about the Telluride Film Festival, visit: https://telluridefilmfestival.org