I own an old sign that reads: "Brandeis Film Festival." It bears no date. At some point, long ago, there was a film festival at Brandeis.When I was a high-school junior, my school's administration brought in Kenny Schnur '00, then a Brandeis student, to lead an after-school film production club. He was a founder of Brandeis Television and was working on a collegiate drama called "Mod 5," the station's first major production.

Kenny, who had looked at the few films I had made, needed a director of photography for the show. I had taught myself enough to take on the task, so he brought me in.

Brandeis was not a film-friendly place at the time. BTV had some equipment (most of which was very cheap), but, as I remember, the camera was privately owned. The crew seemed like renegades running around campus, teaching themselves the ins-and-outs of production and relying solely on their limited knowledge and resources to create narrative entertainment for the whole school.

During my first year here, Brandeis remained a cinematic wasteland. I held a screening of some of my high-school films at the end of that year. There may have been only 20 people there. The following year, after filming some short comedies, I held another screening with the help of a now-defunct club called Student Artwork on Campus. That one attracted nearly 50 viewers. As far as I can tell it was closest Brandeis had to a student film festival in several decades.

Cinematic interest grew dramatically over the course of that year. The film studies program began to expand its offerings, and the English department now offered courses related to film. But film presented an artistic challenge to students.

The stage was set by the start of my junior year for a full-scale cinematic revival on campus. Scott Edmiston, then the newly-instated director of the Office of the Arts, had not even settled in when I saw an article in the Justice about his appointment. I e-mailed him suggesting that film be given more emphasis. He responded enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, I was fortunate enough to meet Rebecca Cook-Dubin, the newly-hired Shapiro Theater coordinator, and she mentioned that she was looking for events to fill the theater with. I suggested a film festival, and within a few days, Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett, Scott and Rebecca joined forces to push the idea forward.

I could hardly believe what was going on. Just a few months earlier I had struggled to pull together a "film festival" of my own, and suddenly, here I was, speaking with the University's movers-and-shakers about creating something significant.

Maya Segal '04, who was trying to revive the Film Club at the time, joined this new endeavor. Rebecca, Maya and I were awe-struck last year as the festival blossomed.

Marshall Herskovitz '73, a powerful Hollywood producer, flew in to be the keynote speaker at the inaugural SunDeis festival last year. We screened movies by student filmmakers across New England, and like me, many of them had never screened their work to a large audience. For one weekend in April, a school without even a film major became a hub of extraordinary cinematic activity.

With SunDeis just around the corner and with my own graduation two steps beyond that, I find myself reflecting on both the last few years and the adventures laying ahead.

BTV now enjoys secured funding, and while they hoped for more, I expect strong work from them in the next few years.

The Film Club, which recently officially changed its name from Third-Eye Film, will hopefully grow and develop into a more active force on campus. The film program, in Prof. Thomas Doherty's (AMST) capable hands, has expanded its offerings. I hope that the disagreement over offering a film major will get worked out in the next few years.

And SunDeis, which made a splash all over New England, will hopefully continue to soar past everyone's wildest dreams and give filmmakers across the region the recognition they deserve and the support they need.

The widescreen dreams I had for this place as a first-year student are materializing before my eyes, and I am comforted in knowing that film will continue to thrive here even after the pomp and circumstance of late May ushers me out to a "real" world-or at least to a bigger one.