The University of Louisville (UofL) will celebrate the next generation of filmmakers at its Flock of Films student showcase. The free event will be at Speed Cinema (2035 S. 3rd St.) on Thursday, April 17, at 6:00 p.m. Curated by the Department of Communication in the College of Arts and Sciences, the program will feature short works produced in classes at UofL’s Film Program.
Revitalized in 2016 as a Film Studies and Production minor, UofL’s Film Program is now flourishing: hiring more faculty, offering more courses, upgrading equipment, and connecting students with paid opportunities in the local film industry. Some graduates of the program have advanced into MFA programs, while others have gone on to work for news media like NPR, television series like “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” and the Criterion Collection, as well as feature films produced in Louisville like “Queen of the Ring” and “LandLord.”
“We’re really proud of the effort our students put into these projects,” said Smith, who is also a filmmaker. “Filmmaking is a lot of fun, but it’s even more work. So learning that creative discipline in the classroom is setting them up to go on to great things after they graduate. We’re privileged to be that resource in the community.”
The Flock of Films program includes a broad spectrum of narratives, including mind readers in the short “I Can Hear What You Think,” malcontent bananas in the short “Banana,” and an exploration of the local immigration experience in the documentary short “Beechmont and the American Dream.”
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Recent UofL Film Program graduate Alyssa Couri — who co-wrote and co-directed “The Legend of Gourdface” and “Eeek!” with classmate (and romantic partner) Hunter Hoskins — contributed an experimental music video titled “Girl(twist).” “I wanted to utilize my different interests, so I did animation, stop motion mixed with live video, funky makeup, and used black light and neon colors for the overall look,” she said. “It made a funky, crazy, neon mess.” The video follows a girl on her journey to a new city. When she arrives, the city comes to life with neon colors and dizzying camera movement. Couri’s uses animation to depict buildings burning and the city crumbling, which sends her protagonist into an emotional spiral. “It’s definitely a very metaphorical video,” Couri said. “I really enjoyed making it, though, and I only had a couple of weeks to put it together.”
Flock of Films received sponsorships from UofL’s Department of Communication, Department of Comparative Humanities, Honors Program, and Liberal Studies Visiting Scholars Project, as well as support from local production houses and film organizations, including Kertis Creative, the Louisville Film Society, Women in Film KY, 502 Film, Below the Line Shorts, and Post 237.
These partnerships hope to galvanize UofL’s Film Program as a professional development hub for film and film production, not only for students but also for the larger Louisville community. The Flock of Films showcase hopes to grow enrollment in the program and eventually turn the film production minor into a major academic field at UofL. “It’s a brain trust for what we’re currently doing in the program and what we want to do, along with helping students get jobs during and after their time at UofL,” Smith said.
Flock of Films lands at Speed Cinema only weeks after Senate Bill 1 (SB-1) was signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear on March 26. Effective July 1, SB-1 will create the Kentucky Film Office as an attachment to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and create the Kentucky Film Leadership Council as an extension of the Kentucky Film Office. SB-1 follows an uptrend in feature film production in Kentucky, including “Wildcat,” directed by Ethan Hawke, and the forthcoming “Dead Man’s Wire,” directed by Louisville native Gus Van Sant.
The doors at Speed Cinema open at 6:00 p.m., with snacks and drinks available in the lobby until the Flock of Films begins at 7:00 p.m. The showcase will be followed by a Q&A session. Paid parking is available in the Speed Art Museum Garage (2317 S. 2nd St.). Seating at Speed Cinema is limited, and the event is open to the public, so arrive early to find a seat.
Follow the UofL Film Program on Instagram, YouTube, or the official website for updates on Flock of Films and other events.
This article appears in Apr 11-24, 2025.