15th Highbridge Film Festival Announces 2019 Judges Panel and Program Lineup

WILMORE, KY (April 15, 2019) – Asbury University’s acclaimed Communication Arts Program is hosting their 2019 Highbridge Film Festival and Engaging Culture Weekend April 25-27 with an emphasis on the art of filmmaking. Programming kicks off Thursday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. with The Sounds of Stage and Screen Concert; filmmaking seminar sessions throughout the day on Friday, April 26; Friday Night Live sketch comedy show Friday night at the Greathouse Theater; and concludes with the 15th-annual Highbridge Film Festival showcase event at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. Tickets for the film festival showcase event and red carpet reception following are on sale online now.

Official film selections for the festival are screened by an esteemed panel of Hollywood film professionals to determine student award-winners in the Narrative, Documentary and Super Short categories. The 2019 judges panel includes Nicole Baer, Michael Swanson, and Dean Batali. Baer is an aspiring director and sought after film editor whose editorial credits include Supernatural, Timeless and S.W.A.T. Swanson is an Emmy-Award winning producer and TV studio executive at NBC-Universal who has produced features, documentaries, shorts, and commercials over the past 20 years through his company, Faith Filmworks, Inc. Batali is a TV showrunner, producer and writer who has produced and written for That 70’s Show. He was also showrunner for Hallmark’s ratings-topper The Good Witch from 2016-18. Along with judging film selections, the panel will present workshop sessions for Asbury University students throughout the day Friday, April 26.

“I found my own college education transformative in shaping the person I am today. For these student filmmakers, this experience of refining the art and craft of their filmmaking from a strong foundation of faith and academic rigor will serve them well as future professionals,” says Swanson, who will also be the featured speaker at the University chapel service at 10 a.m. on Friday, the 26th. “I’m looking forward to meeting them and celebrating their work, along with contributing to the creative community at Asbury through the festival.”

Official film selections for the 2019 festival showcase will be announced on social media and the web site one week before the Festival. Tickets for the Festival event are available at on-campus locations for $16 (includes tax) and can be purchased now online. Ticket holders can attend the showcase and awards show event in Hughes Auditorium (doors open at 7 p.m.), along with the red carpet reception celebration following in the studios of Asbury’s state-of-the-art Miller Center for Communication Arts. The festival showcase and awards show will also be streamed live on the highbridgefilmfestival.com main page, with a special pre-show broadcast starting at 6:45 p.m.

NOTE: Seating for news media is available upon request. If you would like more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Special Events: hbfilmfest@gmail.com.

About Highbridge Film Festival

The Highbridge Film Festival began in 2005 as a vehicle for Asbury University’s School of Communication Arts to showcase student films and in the process, encourage visual storytelling. Each year the festival selects about a dozen student films and provides a venue for special presentations from Communication Arts and the panel of judges from the film and television industry. The film festival is entirely produced and promoted through the combined efforts of the School of Communication Arts’ Special Events class and student volunteers. 2019 marks the 15th anniversary of the festival, which has grown into a nationally recognized collegiate film festival delighting audiences and attracting wide-ranging interest from the film industry.