Film festivals are nothing new to the university setting, and while Visions is strictly undergraduate, the thing that sets Visions apart from other events like it is the conference portion. For the past two years, the conference has featured some of the most thoughtful, cool, and even bizarre topics across the spectrum of film history.
One such exemplary effort in undergraduate scholarship is Michael Daye's essay "Touki Bouki: Djibril Diop Mambety and the Postcolonial Aesthetic," which Daye presented during the 2012 Visions Film Festival & Conference. In his presentation, Daye defined traits of post-colonialist aesthetic through analysis of of the Senaglese film Touki Bouki. Daye then explored motifs within Touki Bouki in the context of Third Cinema, a political tier of filmmaking developed by regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Daye flew overseas from University College Falmouth in the United Kingdom—a trip well spent, for his intensive research and near-flawless execution earned him the Excellence In Scholarship award. I was able to ask Daye a few questions about his life after Visions, and I learned that, despite his outstanding skills as a presenter, the experience was somewhat new to him. "I'm not really much of a public speaker… so the task of presenting a paper in a foreign land was a little daunting for me…" admits Daye. The thing that put him at ease, however, was the assurance that he was in the company of intelligent filmmakers and scholars. Having presented for Visions to a mountain of over 200 seat's in UNCW's Lumina Theater, Daye now says it's something he'd love to do again.
For Michael Daye, scholarship was never the primary route for his career, but rather a complementary endeavor. Says Daye, "There's a general sense with media courses that the academic work is just there to fill in the gaps between your filmmmaking projects." Daye separates himself from this crowd in acknowledging that academia is an equally valid way of expressing his ideas. Indeed, Daye is a filmmaker first and foremost, and well-versed as well. His interests weave through every phase of production, from writing to directing to editing and everything in between. This multifaceted approach perhaps explains Daye's urge to "wander into the unknown," as he did with Touki Bouki.
Doing research and writing papers has always been of interest to Daye, but he believes that the relationship between scholarship and filmmaking differs depending on what one's role in production its. "As I enjoy directing," says Daye, "I've found myself studying the styles of individual directors and getting to understand their creative strategies." His thesis project on David Lynch was the latest to impact his approach.
After Visions, Daye's short film Aldilà was accepted at the Cannes Film Festival. More recently he's been shooting music videos and developing illustration projects. He clings to a philosophy wherein "the tail end of one creative project overlaps with the start of another, so that there's some continuing thread between them all." His biggest goal for the near future is to set up a production company for short film production and eventually feature films. His best piece of advice for those about to graduate is this: "Be seen as passionate."
For Daye's reflections on his Cannes experience, see his guest article at Indies Unchained. Be sure to check out Michael Daye's Vimeo account and personal website.
—by Joey Powell
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