Two months ago, recent Florida A&M graduate Charles Gee was fighting for his life after being shot multiple times.
Sunday night, Gee and his partner Peterson Sylvert, 24, a senior broadcast student from Ft. Lauderdale, celebrated his success in winning “Best Amateur Short Film” at the Tallahassee Film Festival.
The duo considers Gee’s attack to be a minor setback, with no reflection on their current filmmaking success.
“Either way, he’s always done and will continue to make videos, whether he’d gone through that or not,” Sylvert said.
The collaboration was inspired by Sylvert’s concept that Gee helped bring to life.
“We both came up with different ideas [to submit], but mine ended but being the one we used. We decided to use the theme of discovery with a twist at the end…we wanted to do something that was out of the box.”
The short film explored the concept of alleged infidelity, with the main character convinced his girlfriend is cheating on him.
Sylvert said he was pleased and extremely honored to be chosen as a winner, and considered it an “exceptional compliment” that someone appreciated the way he and Gee expressed their idea.
Kenneth Jones, a professor in the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication, said he was proud that FAMU students did well in the competition.
“I think the showcase is just a little bit of the awesome filmmaking talents FAMU students have to offer,” Jones said.
The short film is still available to be viewed on www.tallahassee.com, and it titled “Around the Corner.”