DANBURY, Connecticut — The Western Connecticut State University Media Arts Film Festival will return to the Midtown campus on Friday, May 15, 2026. In its 12th year, the festival showcases the best student works from the Media Production, Digital & Interactive Media and Art programs at WestConn. The festival is very popular — bringing in students, family members, alumni, and the community.
Entries will be judged by industry professionals, including alumni Ken Fay and Arnold Miller, both Emmy Award-winning filmmakers and storytellers; as well as Communications & Media Arts adjunct professor Guy Perrotta, also an Emmy winner. Also on hand to serve as a judge will be alumna Phoebe Jane Hart, who received the Jury Award for Animation at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and a Special Jury Award at SXSW. As a student, Hart was a 2018 Media Arts Film Festival category winner.
The May 15 event will take place in the Student Center on the Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The evening will begin with a 6 p.m. reception in Room 202A, a 6 p.m. Digital Interactive Media Arts Exhibition in Room 202B, and a 7 p.m. film screening and awards ceremony in the Student Center Theater. The festival is free and open to the public; formal attire is suggested, but not required. There will be refreshments and a cash bar.
Sponsored by the Communication & Media Arts Department the event will culminate with awards for best films, videos, animations, screenplays, and interactive media.
For more information, contact Dr. JC Barone at baronej@wcsu.edu.
Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals, and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.