Northern Illinois University’s Reality Bytes Film Festival is just around the corner.
The annual festival, organized by students in the NIU Department of Communication, offers student filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their independent films to audiences from both the NIU and DeKalb communities.
The festival was created in 2001 by Dr. Laura Vazquez, who serves as the festival's director.
“In the beginning, there were no other student film festivals," she said. "We had very few films, maybe 20 films. We now have 120 films. It's a lot of review work, but what it does is so many things for the students in the class. It helps them become better critical thinkers about media.”
Jocelyn Chavez is one of the students who has gained valuable experience through Reality Bytes. A communication major with a focus on media studies, she plays a key role on the film festival’s social media team, helping spread the word throughout DeKalb. She says being involved in the festival has help her build skills in social media marketing.
"I feel like it helps me with that skill of understanding of how the metrics work and what people are interested in seeing," she said. "[For example] What gets the audience to actually be attracted to what we're posting and attracting the target audience as well. I feel like it helped me a lot in that like aspect.”
The NIU Reality Bites Film Festival will showcase independent films created by students from across the U.S. and around the world, including entries from California, China, and India. The two-day event begins on April 15 in Cole Hall Room 100, on the NIU campus, with screenings starting at 6:30 p.m. It continues on April 16 at the historic Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, with the show beginning at 7:00 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. No tickets are required.