At Thursday night's screening of submissions to the SunDeis Film Festival, audience members often had to strain to hear the movies over the background chatter of the Shapiro Campus Center: The SunDeis committee screened festival submissions in the Atrium this year, presumably in an attempt to open the event up to more casual observers. The change encouraged time-pressed passersby -many on their way to or from room selection appointments-to linger and watch just one or two movies before moving on. However, it made the movies difficult to enjoy over the noise coming from Einstein Bros. Bagels and the music filtering from the WBRS loudspeakers.Outside sounds posed a particular threat to the films that relied on voice-overs to establish narrative structures. "First of May," by DeAnna Marie Johnson of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, was a totally unintelligible stream of images because its voice-over could not be heard. This was unfortunate considering the film was awarded Best Animation by the SunDeis Committee.

On the other hand, Best of Brandeis and Best Editing winner, "Triple Word Score," starring Sam Zelitch '09 and Talya Davidoff '12, had a simpler structure that was easy to follow even when the narration was not audible. Based on Charlie Fish's short story "Death by Scrabble," the film depicted a couple playing an eerie version of the titular board game in which they could manipulate real-life events through the words they laid on the board.

The films that best withstood the loud environment were those with no narration, many of which also contained magical elements. One of these was "Reveries and Chimeras, "by students of Film Studies Profs. Marc Weinberg and Mark Dellelo. Katie Nadworny '09, Vlad Sillam '09 and Mohammad Kundas '10 received Best Director awards for their dark segment about a painter (Emilio Mendoza '09) who molests his subject (Allison Vanouse '09) by painting her.

Another movie with sexual themes, "Bind," won Best Film (Grad) and Best Director (Grad) for University of Southern California director Jonathan Zimmerman's depiction of an Orthodox Jewish housewife launched into the world of sado-masochism after a chance encounter on a bus.

On a lighter note, Fan Favorite winner "Matt and Brian's Excellent Adventure," by Matt Kriegsman '11 and Brian Fromm '11, used stop-motion photography to lead viewers on a farcical quest through a mysterious door. Like "Reveries," "Adventure" benefited from a fantastical storyline expressed soley through images.

A fourth supernaturally focused film, "The Girls of Alden," submitted by Dalila Droege of Columbia College, drew heavily on such commercial successes as The Others and Pan's Labyrinth. Sydney Kirkegaard picked up a Best Performance award, but last Thursday night her lines were obscured by the noise of Shapiro.

Several films had a documentary focus. "Innocents Abroad in Istanbul" covered a Brandeis-sponsored trip to Al-Quds University, where several students met with Middle Eastern students to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Filmmaker Stephen Robinson '11 captured late-night debates around a hookah, allowing viewers to appreciate the value of the summit as much as its participants did. A team from Tufts won Best Documentary for "Honk: No Noise is Illegal," about a group of activist street musicians who took to the streets in Cambridge last summer in a jubilant attempt to "reclaim public thoroughfares and streets" in protest of America's ownership culture.

"I Want To Fly" by New York University's Misha Sundokovskiy had a documentary feel but was in fact a fictional account of a young man's relationship with his father as developed through the sport of basketball. The film won Best Film and Best Cinematography.

Anthony Scibelli '09, a SunDeis organizer, contributed four entries to Thursday night's screening, including "Triple Word Score," "The Number," "Snacktastrophe" and "Untitled Anthony Scibelli Project." These last two closed Thursday's screening, drawing laughs from an audience grateful to finally be able to hear what was going on. Perhaps next year the committee will consider a different venue to better exhibit the work of Brandeis' prolific budding filmmakers.

Editor's Note: Brian Fromm is the Copy editor for the Justice.