MURFREESBORO — Celebrate
the new year all over again with the official world premiere of a short film
created by MTSU students, faculty and alumni.
“Happy New Year, Mr. Kates!” will be shown at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Murfreesboro Center for the Arts, 110 W. College St.
in Murfreesboro.
The 33-minute tale features a nursing home resident who
feels that his life has been a failure until fate intervenes on the eve of the
new year. It was written and directed by Dr. Bob Pondillo, a professor emeritus
of mass media history and American culture.
The Murfreesboro Center for the Arts will receive 15 percent
of all money raised with the bulk of the revenue going to film festival fees.
“Our plan is to place ‘Mr. Kates’ in as many festivals as
possible,” said Pondillo, noting that some festival fees run as high as $100
per event.
Admission is $14.50 per person. The film itself will be
available on DVD for a donation of $15, and a compilation boxed set of DVDs
containing all six of Pondillo’s award-winning films will be available for a
suggested donation of $30.
The boxed set includes “My Name is Wallace” and “Wait …,”
both of which were screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France,
as well as “Would You Cry If I Died?,” “The New, True Charlie Wu,” and “The Miracles
on Honey Bee Hill.”
“I think I’ve grown as a screenwriter and director since our
earliest efforts,” said Pondillo. “And, by screening our boxed set, viewers
will be able to see the growth and change.”
“Mr. Kates,” which has been more than two years in the
making, won the “Best Short Screenplay” award at the 2012 American
International Film Festival in Chicago.
The movie took the Audience Choice Award for Best Film at
the ARTLightenment Festival in Nashville in November. Pat Reilly, who portrayed
Mr. Kates, won the Best Actor Award, and Dr. Bob Wood, an MTSU professor of
recording industry, won “Best Musical Score” honors for composing the music.
Pondillo’s earlier independent films, which also included
students and alumni in the crew, have garnered awards at film festivals around
the world.
His colleague, retired MTSU electronic media communication
professor Dr. Mary Nichols, obtained an MTSU Synergy Grant of some $22,000 to
make “Mr. Kates.” Synergy grants are awarded to facilitate interdisciplinary
projects involving faculty and students.
More than 30 electronic media communication majors, several
recording industry graduate students and a few recent alumni participated, as
well as makeup artists from the Department of Speech and Theatre.
Following the screening, members of the audience will have
an opportunity to chat with the actors who starred in the film. Complementary
wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
To order tickets or for more information, contact Blake
Tumbleson at 615-948-0008 or blake@TumblesonAV.com.
Tickets may be ordered in advance at http://mrkates.brownpapertickets.com, and
the movie’s Facebook page is www.facebook.com/HappyNewYearMrKates.
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