Photo courtesy of Isaac Haney-Owens
Photography major Isaac Haney-Owens will travel to New York City on Thursday, Oct. 27 for the screening of the film “Talking About It” which will be shown at the Media That Matters Festival.
Every year, only twelve short films are selected and this year Haney-Owens’ was one of them. Borba said that for this year’s festival over 200 short films were submitted from around the world.
All short films are required to be less than 12 minutes in length. The festival will hold a world premiere of the short films at the IFC Center, an art house movie theater in New York City.
After the premiere, the short filmmakers will be honored at an awards ceremony at HBO where many of them will also win cash awards.
“Talking About It” was created by Haney-Owens, 20, and focuses on the lives of people with Asperger’s syndrome, a condition he was diagnosed with.
PubMed Health, a largely peer-reviewed health research database, describes Asperger’s syndrome as a high-functioning form of autism. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome repeat behaviors and have difficulty interacting socially.
Haney-Owens is a Fresno State freshman and a student in the Wayfinders program, an educational program for students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
Students in the Wayfinders program receive approximately 30 hours per week of study assistance and learning opportunities geared specifically toward their disability.
Haney-Owens belongs to the first class of Wayfinders students attending Fresno State this semester.
The program began when a group of young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities voiced their wish to go to college. Eventually, parents and students got involved and created the Wayfinders program.
Before entering the Media That Matters Festival, Haney-Owens spent one semester at the Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology, which focuses on teaching arts and technology in San Francisco.
“Isaac learned the whole production process at BAYCAT so he is very knowledgeable about technology,” Karen Haney-Owens, Isaac’s mother, said. “He learned how to edit, direct music, basically everything. He had to come up with his own ideas and execute them and BAYCAT was there to help him along the way.”
At BAYCAT, students are given free classes in digital media, print, web, music and radio. Haney-Owens worked with the educators at BAYCAT for one semester and sent his video to the Media That Matters Festival.
“BAYCAT has never had a film in this festival,” Karen said. “Everyone is very excited. The executive director of BAYCAT, Villy Wang, is even flying to New York City for the screening as well.”
The Media That Matters Festival is an annual showcase for short films that inspire people to take action.
“We usually look for films that have some sort of social impact,” Kim Borba, programs coordinator for the Media That Matters Festival, said. “We always want to make sure that voices that are typically ignored are heard from.”
“I hope to be able to make more movies and tell the world what my films are about,” Haney-Owens said.