About Auburn Films
Extending the Classroom
Auburn Films is a film production company lead by Film & Media Studies faculty and students with the purpose of creating branded and non-commercial video content, short documentary and narrative films, and educational videos for not-for-profit partners. We collaborate with artists, creative agencies, and organizations to produce a wide variety of digital media projects. Part of the mission of Auburn Films is to extend the classroom by involving students in the creative process from beginning to end. Students collaborate with Associate Professors and Auburn Films Co-Founders Hollie Lavenstein and Kevin Smith as well as our partners to expand their creative, critical, and technical skills while developing portfolios that make students competitive for internships and jobs.
Supporting Faculty
Hollie Lavenstein
Associate Professor
lavenho@auburn.edu
Hollie Lavenstein has made short experimental and narrative films about the nature of artistic creation, the terrors of domesticity, and the indignities of modern life. They have screened and won awards at various international festivals and venues, including: The Chicago International Film Festival, The American Film Institute Festival, South By Southwest Film Festival, The Seattle International Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, The Atlanta Film Festival, The Sundance Channel, PBS, and Canal +. Her narrative short, just act normal, was invited to screen as part of the retrospective, Light is Calling: Twenty First Century American Short Films, at The 2014 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Her films have received support from the Alabama State Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council, The Chicago Arts Council, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is currently at work on a new documentary short, Elaina Kills A Cat.
Kevin Smith
Associate Professor
kevins@auburn.edu
Kevin Smith is currently an Associate Professor in the area of Film & Media Studies in the School of Communication and Journalism at Auburn University. As co-creator of the Film track, Kevin focuses on the aspects of visual storytelling. As media channels have evolved, Kevin has concentrated his interests in graphic design, to cinematography, then 2D and 3D motion graphics in filmmaking and currently augmented reality. Kevin places emphasis on these mediums’ incorporation into the overall visual storytelling process. Kevin’s body of work has received recognition both internationally and nationally including design competition awards (American Advertising Federation (AAF) Addy Awards, Telly Awards, Pixie Awards, Creativity 39th & 40th Design Competition, Designing For the Greater Good), work in books (Logolounge Volume 9 and The Vandercook 100), magazine features (Uppercase Magazine) and State of Alabama archival permanent collection inclusion (Letterpress Poster Series).
