Digital Filmmaking Student Showcase
A Letter From the Faculty
The films of this year’s Digital Filmmaking senior class takes you on a ride with protagonists at the edge of transformation. A troubled young man tries to make it right with his father. A woman maneuvers through her grief. A sleepless college student seeks relief. A man travels through various dimensions to receive answers. A young man asks for his future fiancée’s family for her hand in marriage.
Each filmmaker has spent the better part of the last academic year crafting these characters and plotting their arcs. From story development through planning, shooting, and post-production, students have carefully moved through the filmmaking process one final time before graduating from Villa Maria.
All films were produced in DFM 435: Final Film Project under my guidance. The talents of each filmmaker has grown since arriving to the college, and they are prepared to take the media world by storm.
A huge congratulations to all seniors on your accomplishments and successes! Good luck, and see you at the movies.
Sarah Mann
Assistant Professor, Digital Filmmaking
The Senior Films Produced This Year
Avanna Duff
Memories of Yesterday
A young woman is trapped within her own grief over the loss of her boyfriend until a serendipitous conversation with a stranger changes her perspective.
Artist Bio
Avanna Duff is a multidisciplinary artist. She explores her work through the usage of both film and art. Avanna hopes to continue her film career and studies as production designer in Atlanta, Georgia.
Nicholas Jerabek
Pandora’s Life
A man stumbles through the various dimensions of his life to seek answers from a mysterious woman who keeps following him.
Artist Bio
Nicholas Jerabek is an aspiring director and cinematographer whose time at Villa Maria College has been an absolute blast. Throughout his time at Villa, Nicholas has learned and developed his skills that’ll set him up for success in the workforce. He’s made numerous short films that demonstrate his growth over his craft and creativity that has set him apart from his peers. When he graduates, Nicholas will seek out a full time position that utilizes what he’s learned and will allow him to grow as a filmmaker. In his free time, he’ll be hard at work writing scripts that hold stories that Nicholas will be eager to tell.
Romone Reeves
You May
A young man approaches his girlfriend’s family to ask for her hand in marriage, but her brothers put him through the ringer to determine if he’s a good fit for their sister.
Artist Bio
Romone Reeves is a writer and director. He will be attending graduate school at Long Island University in the Writing and Producing for Television MFA program in Fall 2023.
Dante Simonetta
Time Stood Still
A troubled young man cares for his father and reckons with his past, but his future quickly closes in on him.
Artist Bio
Dante Simonetta has been at Villa for three years pursuing his passion for filmmaking. He is currently taking on freelance film work in editing and production roles. He hopes to continue this and be a thriving member of the Buffalo film community in the future. He is the 2023 recipient of Outstanding Student in Digital Filmmaking and won Best in Show at Red Carpet Night 2023 at Villa Maria College for his film, Time Stood Still.
Mariah Villafane
Long Nights
A college student suffering from severe insomnia tries a new sleep supplement and experiences some extreme side effects.
Artist Bio
Mariah Villafane is a filmmaker and video editor from Brooklyn, New York. During her time at Villa, she joined student life as a workstudy and eventually became the president of Film Club. After graduating she will be editing and creating shows at the Apollo Media Center while working on her own projects and freelance.
