Starting with Tom Teller’s sci-fi epic Icarus today, we hope to highlight some of the best work from our students releasing online for public viewing. The film, Tom’s spring 2016 undergraduate thesis, has had an incredible run on the film festival circuit. Starting with the Academy Award-Qualifying Show Me Shorts Festival in October 2016, traveling all over New Zealand (and in a unique screening, Antarctica), ICARUS has had over a hundred screenings total across numerous cities, states, and countries all over the world.

Chosen as a Leo Freedman First Cut film here at Dodge, one of our many ways in which we showcase our students’ work, the film managed to win over 10 variations on the Best Short Film awards at different festivals as well as several awards for the lead actress, Julia Farino, and the visual effects. Tom’s film played both general and genre festivals proving mass appeal of the work, reaching such heights as being officially selected to the world renowned Palm Springs International ShortFest, Heartland Film Festival, and winning Best Short Film at the Sedona International Film Festival. Gerry Vazquez’s sound work was also honored with the Verna Fields Student Award at the MPSE Golden Reel Awards.

The film packs both a visual and emotional punch featuring stunning visual effects work that usually garners a reaction like “is that really an undergraduate film?” Indeed, it is and you might also mistake the film for coming from a filmmaking team further on in their careers for the emotional maturity and impact the main story between the mother and son displays in spades. Congratulations Tom and his whole team for their online premiere of Icarus and we know we will be seeing their work for years to come.

Eager for more work from Dodge alumni? Check out Tom Teller and Julian Conner’s production company Frame 48, featuring a myriad of alums from the program at their website here.

Cast: Jason Tobias, Julia Farino, Thurston Hill, and Sean Burgos
Director: Tom Teller
Writer: Andrew Guastaferro
Producer: Michelle Evans
Cinematographer: Nico Aguilar
Art Department: Francesca Parodi, Nicole Ramirez, and Corinne DeLouise
Editor: Cole Wright
Sound Designer: Gerry Vazquez
Composer: Ryan Stratton

Icarus Tom Teller