On Friday, March 5, UMBC's Interdisciplinary Film Association (IFA) kicked off their first Hilltop Independent Student Short Film Festival, HISS, a three-day event where UMBC students and alumni from the film/video program could display their works and discuss them with a participative audience. The event came at the end of Art Week, and highlighted a medium not covered to a great extent during that week.

The first night of the festival was a celebration of UMBC alumni works. Fifteen works were seen total, and saw even non-UMBC graduates come out to support their collaborators. After a screening of the works from the night's entrants, there was a question-and-answer where the participants answered a few small questions about working in film and the trials they have faced.

Of the films screened that night, many were fairly impressive and were able to leave a mark. Among these works was one by Armando Valle, titled The Water Board. In the film, Valle likens the water boarding method of torture to the method of a serial killer. The film is narrated by a woman discussing serial killer theory, and, while not one of the easiest films at the festival to watch, was fairly gripping from beginning to end.

The films presented ranged from narratives to abstract video works to even commercials. Tim Brosius, Cullen Cook, and Edmund Shum entered their service announcement on macular degeneration titled Age-Related Macular Degeneration. The advertisement depicted a man speaking about his experience suffering from the incurable disease, and covered ways people can help fight it.

Animation also made an appearance at the festival, notably in the form of Matt Szychowski's Broken, a stop -motion piece on the hypocrisy and tyranny of religious institutions. While the animation is crude, it works to the project's advantage, creating a dark atmosphere in mere simplicity. Another animated work in the show was Andrew Caughy's 9 Lives, an abstract piece centered on cats.

The second day of the festival offered a similar palette of works, only from students still attending UMBC. A notable work was David Hernandez's silent piece Just Beyond the Bridge, filmed on black and white 16-millimeter. It portrayed a surreal tale of a girl running from a mysterious killer in the woods, and offered artistically satisfying excitement.

Horror films were more prominent in this line-up, and included the zombie film 7:32 AM. The film tells its story from first-person point of view, and follows a man who finds himself the victim of a zombie apocalypse. Other prominent works included Drone, by Sara Khaki, and Bad Gig, a quirky comedy from the Interdisciplinary Film Association founder, Shane Logue.

During the question and answer sessions, the filmmakers were asked many challenging questions, most being about copyright on their work. While some do agree that it is important to place a copyright on one's film, some find that simply having one's work out in public for all to see is more important. Some also warned current students not to become cocky when facing the realities of the film festival circuit.

In all, the Hilltop Independent Student Short Film Festival was a solid representation of the body of work available from students currently enrolled and those spawned from UMBC's film program. The films shown had a bit of daring to each of them, and challenged the audience in one way or another to perceive subjects differently. It was also a great introductory event for the fledgling IFA, who looks to bring great student works to the forefront in the coming years.