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In 2008’s MDIA 419 course a group of passionate and talented students in the School of Media Arts and Studies came together to create The Dying Western. The film has become a major success and is racking up numerous awards, besting work from some of the world’s most renowned film and video programs.

In early April, The Dying Western won the award for Best Student Short at the Las Vegas International Film Festival. The film competed against undergraduate and graduate films from all over the world. “It has been eye-opening to see firsthand the impressive quality of movies coming from students at other programs nationwide,” said Michael Kortlander, the film’s director and co-writer. “I think the success of The Dying Western shows that Ohio University can compete with any program out there.”

The Dying Western’s greatest success came April 25th when it won the Grand Jury Prize (first overall) in the Ivy Film Fest. The world’s largest student-run film festival--which included actor Jack Nicholson as the keynote speaker—the Ivy Film Fest screened films that were selected from over 350 submissions from schools that spanned four continents. In addition to the Grand Jury Prize, the film won Best Undergraduate Drama. Along with winning awards at the Las Vegas International Film Festival and The Ivy Fest, The Dying Western won first place in the Young Filmmaker category at the Appalachian Film Festival.

“Over the past nine years, students have continually taken on more and more demanding projects raising the bar each year. The Dying Western is, in many ways, the culmination of all of the efforts that have preceded it,” said Fredrick Lewis, the professor of the 419 course. “There are hundreds of student films out there but precious few are so well done from start to finish, especially at the undergraduate level.”

The Dying Western tells the story of a family in the 1960’s. The father of the family, Howard, is an actor who has perfected playing dying extras in western movies. However, when his wife falls ill, Howard is convinced she is faking her illness in order to “out-die” him.

A group of 15 students spent four months creating the production. Editor Wes Cronk and Kortlander have been working hard editing and re-cutting The Dying Western to polish the film for entries in festivals. Along with editing, the students have dedicated time researching which festivals would be most interested in the film. In all, the students have submitted the film in nearly 40 festivals worldwide.

“The one thing that stood out to me about The Dying Western was the level of passion and commitment that each person on our crew brought to the project,” said Kortlander. “The Dying Western is not the first good movie to come out of the OU video program, and it won't be the last.”

For more information about the School of Media Arts and Studies, please visit http://www.mediaschool.ohiou.edu.