Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival Honors Cogswell College Film “Worlds Apart”

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct 12, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Worlds Apart — a short animated film created in a unique class called Project X at Cogswell College — received the Best Short Animation Award at the October 2, 2011 closing ceremony of the Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival. Film Director Michael Zachary Huber and Cogswell Chancellor Chuck House attended the ceremony at the International House Ibrahim Theater to accept the award.

“One of the reasons for the success of Project X is the fact that it operates on a deep running ideological premise,” said Huber. “That premise is that beauty in craftsmanship transcends time and space. Anyone from anywhere in the world can look at a beautiful piece of art or architecture and be inspired by it. There is an inherent truth in beauty and that fact can be appreciated from generation to generation. Project X strives to uphold these principals through the modern mix of art and technology that is digital animation.”

San Jose area audiences will have the chance to see Worlds Apart at the upcoming San Jose Short Film Festival set for October 20-23, 2011 where the film is an ‘Official Selection.’

As a testament to the quality of the work produced by Project X, Stephanie Yuhas, the Co-Founder of Project Twenty1 and the Philadelphia Film and Animation Festival, said:

“I’m blown away by the level of work coming from Cogswell College and greatly admire the mission of Project X. We’ve been running this festival since 2006, and I’ve never seen a film or animation come through our juries or screening panels of dozens of people with a “perfect 10” in every category. In other words, in our total library of about 650 films, some of which are features that have now received worldwide theatrical distribution, the student short Worlds Apart has received the highest scores. Whatever you’re doing over there in Sunnyvale, California – keep doing it; our audiences want more!”

Part science fiction and part cautionary fairytale, Worlds Apart explores the universal themes of stewardship of nature and the fate of humanity. Worlds Apart asks the question, “Can humanity change its ways and save itself?” Watch the trailer.

Project X is a one-of-a-kind, project-based class at Cogswell College that is run like a professional animation production studio using teams of skilled artists and sound designers. Students work tirelessly for three semesters to produce a studio-quality, short film. During production they are supported by a massive collaborative effort from faculty, staff, visiting artists, industry professionals and alumni.

The Philadelphia Film and Animation Festival ‘Official Selections’ are determined by a panel of over 35 unbiased community screeners in the Greater Philadelphia Area. A panel of industry judges decides which nominees become award finalists and then which film receives top honors. The Festival is very competitive as only the top 10% of the films submitted are selected for screening.

“Cogswell’s Project X is emblematic of the most effective educational approach now known — immerse the student in a hands-on project,” said Chuck House, Chancellor of Cogswell College. “Learning by doing has proven to be the most stimulating, engaging and creative way to educate. Project X takes these practicum ideas to an additional level of collaboration that is rapidly becoming the hallmark of 21st century work practices. Not only are student skills tested and honed for their respective contributions, but they have the opportunity to work at a professional level on a project much larger than most typical senior projects. The award earned by “Worlds Apart” is just icing on the cake — proof that these students are indeed able to combine digital arts, media, engineering and entrepreneurship to produce a stunning result.”