Matthew Weener of Hudsonville recognized for Huntington University student film

2012 Mar 20

"Refresh," a student-animated film by Matthew Weener of Hudsonville, MI, and two other Huntington University students, has once again found success after winning the Water Day Film Festival.

Weener is a senior animation major at HU.

The students took first place in the first-ever Water Day Film Festival for their stop-motion short "Refresh." The festival was hosted by Water.org, a nonprofit organization that strives to provide access to safe water and sanitation in communities in Africa, South Asia and Central America.

"Refresh" deals with the disparity between people who are privileged and those who live without. Without delving into politics in any way, the film simply asks audiences to take a hard look at how people use limited resources and if there is any way to help those with less.

"Refresh" was shown in multiple film festivals last year including the Toronto International Student Animation Festival, the Stop Motion Magazine Film Festival in Los Angeles, Calif., the Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival, the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, Kan., and the Columbus International Film & Video Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

"Making festival pieces was one of the goals we set for ourselves when building the digital media arts program," said Steve Leeper, associate professor of digital media arts.

Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest, and Forbes.com has listed the university as one of America's Best Colleges. Additionally, Princeton Review has named the institution to its "Best in the Midwest" list. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington University is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in northeast Indiana. The university is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

For text of this and all Huntington University news releases, visit www.huntington.edu/news.