University Union will host its first-ever student film festival Feb. 10, officials announced Sunday. The event, called SyRECuse, will be held in both the Kittredge and Gifford auditoriums in Huntington Beard Crouse Hall simultaneously, allowing for more than 500 viewers total, said Tenaysia Fox, co-director of UU Cinemas.

‘It was our mission to do this for students so we could show our appreciation for when they buy tickets for our shows,’ Fox said. ‘Now we get to showcase their talents and tell students we appreciate everything they do.’

SyRECuse starts at 8 p.m. and is free to all Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students, faculty and staff, and the general public.

UU has received three submissions, but Fox anticipates more, as students are back on campus and have been working on films during Winter Break.

‘It’s hard when you put so much effort into projects and the only people who can see them are friends and professors,’ Fox said.

Co-sponsors of SyRECuse include SU’s Obscure Cinema Society and Rylaxer, a company founded in 2009 by SU alumnus Ryan Dickerson. Additionally, Mike Armour and Joshua Eisenfeld, both senior television, radio and film majors, are set to speak at the event about their summer when the pair traveled to Mozambique while filming a documentary. They will discuss their experiences and how they received funding for the trip, Eisenfeld said.

All students are invited to submit videos for entry with an application available in the UU office in the Schine Student Center or online via its website. All entries are due by noon on Jan. 27. All genres and film lengths are eligible for entry. The creator of the first-place film will win tickets to the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.

UU Cinemas is a division of UU responsible for on- and off-campus screenings of new films. It collaborates with student organizations and forms outside partnerships to create entertainment opportunities for students.

‘When you go to this school you know people with so much talent, but they don’t have a place to showcase their work,’ Fox said. ‘I’m happy we get to provide this experience for them.’

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Published on January 18, 2012 at 12:00 pm