Evan Bode G’23, a graduate of the M.F.A. film program in the Department of Film and Media Arts and an instructor in the department, had their thesis film “Out of Frame” win Best Animation at the 42nd New Jersey Film Festival (NJFF), along with three Director’s Citations for outstanding achievement in directing, music, and production design from festival director Al Nigrin. The film—which was their M.F.A. thesis created in the film program—was written, directed, edited, and animated by Bode, who also composed the score.
Out of over 400 films submitted to NJFF this year, only 19 were selected to screen at the festival, for a 4.7% acceptance rate—and out of those, only five were award winners. Films were judged by a panel of media professionals, academics, students, and journalists.
This is the second time in a row that Bode has won “Best Animation” at New Jersey Film Festival, as their previous film, “A Spot for Frog,” won the same award at the previous international edition in June.