Devi Veysey ‘16, a double major in child development and theatre has always been surrounded by creative people. "My dad would carry a video camera and make home videos of us when we were growing up. Later on, my sister and my cousin got involved in filmmaking and I picked up some skills from them, " said Veysey.
Her creativity and passion for film found the perfect opportunity at Whittier where she has participated for three years in the annual Campus MovieFest (CMF.) CMF holds festivals at colleges and universities around the world and provides the necessary technology and training to student filmmakers to tell their stories on the big screen through film. The festival is free to students thanks to corporate partners and schools.
Veysey's five minute short film "I don't know" was made possible in part to the help of four of her Whittier College friends who participated as actors. The writing, producing, and editing of the film was all done by the talented filmmaker.
"I didn't know what to make for the film festival so that was the story line. Not knowing what to do for my film. When I was thinking for a title for the short, I was joking with a friend and said I don't know, so finally I called it that," said Veysey.
"I don't know" won a jury award at the 2015 screening at Whittier's campus and as part of her prize, Veysey will be attending Campus MovieFest Hollywood in July. In addition, her short selected for its extraordinary story telling, technical excellence, and creativity, will be one of only 26 films to represent CMF at the 2015 Cannes International Film Festival in France this May.
Veysey will have the opportunity to take part in an exclusive two-week CMF immersive program designed to help her navigate the ins and outs of the Cannes International Film Festival. She will be able to highlight her film and talent to an international audience of industry professionals and fellow filmmakers, learn how to network and market her filmmaking, and have the opportunity to walk the red carpet and witness the glamour of some of the top film premieres.
But Veysey has even bigger dreams than Cannes. She looks forward to putting her double major in child development and theatre to work.
"I would like to eventually own my theatre company for children," she said.
