Blog posting written by Shawn Steiner, Film, Photography, and Visual Arts '13, FLEFF Intern, Elkridge, MD

It's been a good three years since I started college and I haven't missed a single Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival. I was a blogger my freshman year, a willing participant under Dr. Zimmermann's tutelage my sophomore year and yet again a blogger this year, my junior/senior year at Ithaca College.

Each experience was different but equally amazing. 

This year was especially great. With a revamped meeting structure and more diverse projects to work on I really got involved with the festival. And, since I'm a senior I didn't have any of those nerves popping up when I was talking to festival guests.

And, if there was one point to take away from all this it is this: "We need to do something together."

During each presentation, film or chat in the hallway where a couple people of differing skills were together it always seemed to lead to that conclusion. Transmedia especially seemed to be at the forefront of this.

Great projects require collaboration. Different people from different environments coming together to make something. Because if I have learned anything during my college experience it is that your good friend and editor that leans over your shoulder to tell you that your fade out doesn't work is in it for your best interest.

You have to listen to one another and evolve and move through various mediums to tell your story. Hopefully, after a few years in the field I'll be able to tell mine.

Thank you to everyone involved with FLEFF this year for the great time and learning experience.

Blog posting written by Dorothea Hinman, Cinema and Photography '15, FLEFF Intern, Rochester, NY

FLEFF 2013 was an experience I will never forget. 

I can remember our first class meeting back in the beginning of the semester. We went around the room shared with the rest of the interns our thoughts about the upcoming semester as a FLEFF blogger. We shared things we were excited about and things we were nervous about. Not only did this help us get to know each other, it also eased the anxiety we were all feeling. 

Soon, this anxiety turned to excitement. Actually engaging in international affairs, interviewing filmmakers and working with Engage Media was not daunting at all. In fact, it's downright thrilling! Each week we were presented with a new task. These tasks were hands on and practical: it was a nice break from the normal grind of essays and exams that make up the rest of college life. 

I learned a lot about social media through my FLEFF experience. I had never blogged before. It was a new form of media that I was introduced and thrust into. I learned the importance of "getting it out there." Social media is no about creating something precious that takes four hours to make. It's about important, dynamic ideas and it's about getting it out there, quick, for the world to observe and learn form.

As the festival got closer, we became busier and busier. One of my favorite activities we engaged in was another form of social media to spread the word of FLEFF: flash mobs! Almost every week we had a flash mob around campus to raise awareness and interest in the festival. Not only were these mobs effective, they were also super fun! We got to share our excitement with civillians and engage in conversation.

FLEFF week was a blur of excitement and fluidity. There really was nothing like seeing a line out the door for films like AKA: Doc Pomus and Wild Style. It was a wonderful thing to see people from all around the community come to see these films. I really got a sense of community from the whole experience.

I am very grateful to have participated in FLEFF. I have learned a lot and made a lot of friends. Endless thank yous to everyone else involved, we had a great run! 

Blog posting by Karly Placek, Documentary Studies and Production '15, FLEFF Social Media Manager, Monroe, Wisconsin 

As a freshman, I was told by a professor to enjoy every minute of my college experience because it was going to be the fastest four years of my life. 

Nearly two years later, I've come to the conclusion that this is the truest piece of advice regarding my college years. Every semester seems to fly by faster than the last, and this spring was no exception. 

Only three and a half months ago I met the rest of the blogging staff for FLEFF and began to fully immerse myself in the festival. In this short amount of time, we've interviewed many talented artists, distributors, and intellectuals; conceived and performed flash mobs and street-team demonstrations; engaged personally with an international cohort of guests; and even produced international documentary shorts. It's also rumored that we were "the best blogging team FLEFF has ever seen," but I"ll leave that up for you to decide! 

I personally made many connections this year and was inspired by many professionals. I learned a lot about documentary and activism from conversations with Kelly Matheson , Sarah DuPont , and Liz Miller. I'm excited to see the future of social and environmental activist media and how incredible individuals (and maybe even myself!) will change the dialogue on the activist documentary.

Maintaining a leadership role on the blogging staff has been full of challenges this semester, but I had a team of hard-working individuals who were genuinely thrilled to be working with FLEFF. Our team overcame all obstacles and did so with zeal and passion. It's unfortunate to realize that I will never work with this exact blogging team again, but I'm thankful for all of the insight I've gained and the knowledge we've learned as a team. 

I can't believe I  can say I've already interned for two years with FLEFF - I still feel as if I'm just getting used to college! One thing's for sure: I value every moment spent working with FLEFF. I know that in two short years, I will not have the chance to be as involved and engaged with the incredible people, ideas, and media that have surrounded me for the past two years at the festival. A festival is nothing without people - and I've met some truly inspirational ones here at FLEFF. 

A million thank-you's to everyone involved in any way with FLEFF. "Mobilities" has been a great ride. 

Blog posting written by Shea Lynch, Documentary Studies ’13, FLEFF Intern, Glens Falls, New York

I would like to thank everyone that was apart of FLEFF 2013! 

It was one of the best years yet and we had one of the most engaged intern teams, both bloggers and interns. It’s time to say goodbye as I finish up my last semester here at Ithaca College. It has been a great three semesters for me and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to work alongside festival guests, fellow classmates and Dr. Zimmermann.

When I first started FLEFF, I was nervous. I didn’t really know what to expect. I was suddenly thrown into this world of independent media, complex foreign films and of course tabling! This was such a unique experience to my other classes that it became a breath of fresh air. I was forced to think differently and I was challenged to explore areas of film I was otherwise hesitant to touch.

I became a blogger my first year because I had never immersed myself in this style of writing; I didn’t even know it was a style of writing. Tags? Search Engine Optimization? I was still trying to figure out where to sit in the dining halls.

But with this leap of faith, I gained something valuable. I was able to focus my studies and really understand what I wanted to do after college. I understood the world of social interaction online and learned it takes much more than just posting on Facebook. Much like the films we were writing about, the process of pushing out new information was a complex, multi-layered process. 

When I first started school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. After interning for FLEFF for two semesters, I got a craving to learn more about social media. I took a class this semester about social media and then got hands on experience this semester with street teaming, Derive, and the collaboration with Engage Media. 

I now feel prepared and ready to start my path as a community manager for film festivals or museums. 

My Top FLEFF 2013 Films:

Amazon Gold

Children of Srikandi

Dear Governor Cuomo

Couples

Five Broken Cameras

Blog posting written by Kimberly Capehart, Documentary Studies and Production '16, FLEFF Intern, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 

Wow.

I am eighteen years old and I just spent a week seeing dozens of films, meeting and conversing with film directors, distributors, producer, new media artists and musicians, and, most importantly, writing about all of it. 

FLEFF is something that I never could have dreamed that I would be a part of, especially as a freshman. In the past 5 months, I've overcome my own personal fears and obstacles and have evolved into a mature, festival intern. As a spectator, FLEFF has really exposed me to a lot of new films and styles of filmmaking. It gave me opportunities to see works that I would have never seen on my own, and will probably never see in a theater again. As an intern, it has given me so much more. FLEFF has improved my communication skills, my writing skills, and my skills as a professional to-be. 

My experience has introduced new opportunities and sparked my interest in a variety of new things. I feel like I definitely have an advantage over my colleagues because of this internship: I feel more prepared to tackle bigger things, both on- and off-campus.

This summer I plan on volunteering with the Philadelphia Q!Fest, a gay and lesbian film festival, to further explore the world of film festivals. I will definitely be taking my skills and memories from FLEFF with me back home to Philly. 

My experience with the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival has been nothing short of incredible, and I can't wait to (hopefully!) come back next year.