Duff 2026
The DeSales University Film Festival managed to one up everything that made last year’s festival so great.
The festival highlights the talents and achievements of the TV/Film students at DeSales. From comedies and horrors to conversation pieces and full on proof of concept films this event showcases the variety of films that these students create.
The big thing that makes DUFF different from other film festivals, is the fact that it is entirely student run. From the graphics projected on the main stage, to the management behind the scenes that makes the whole thing come together. This year, the program was run by Dylan S. Baker, a senior student who’s been on the DUFF committee all four of his years at DeSales. Assisting him was our very own Perrin Kirby, making sure that all bases were covered and working alongside Dylan to ensure this DUFF night was one of the best to remember.
The night itself started with a packed lobby, with posters of the night’s films on display for people to see. Featured as well was a section dedicated to behind the scenes photos, showcasing the work effort and detail most people do not realize go into these films. Opposite side of the lobby, were the top 3 pics for the Photography Contest that ran simultaneously to DUFF. While also entirely student submitted, it was judged by industry adjudicators that the DUFF Committee recruited. Once the night got closer to truly starting, people filed into their seats and got to witness a first for the festival. The night started off with a fully choreographed routine by DeSales’s own Dance Department. This alone had brought together all 3 performing arts majors at the university to collaborate on one project.
After the routine, everything kicked off with the screening of the first half of the student films. The first five, ranged from dramatic to comedic and worked as an amazing start to showcase variety in the student work. The intermission allowed everyone to return to the lobby and stock up on refreshments as well as discuss the previous five films. Once the 15 minutes had ended, the second half began. At the end of the screening, the University President, Fr. Jim Greenfield came out and announced that tonight there would be an Audience Choice Award, and the crowd would be able to vote for their favorite film from the batch they just saw. After this, the filmmakers themselves were called up on stage for a brief Q&A about their work. Once questions had ended, the DUFF Committee themselves were introduced to share their roles with the audience since they would be the ones presenting the awards.
After a brief sketch with each grouping before announcing their award, each committee duo handed off the pick for their respective category, from screenplay to directing, there was a lot to showcase from this batch of filmmakers. Following the Audience Choice Award, the ceremony concluded and with a new group of students receiving a symbolic torch from the graduating seniors who expertly ran the DeSales University Film Festival. With the amount of talent displayed on the Labuda Mainstage that evening, everything is set to be in good hands.
Photos by Tristan Reiser
