Did anyone else see the crazy girl walking around in a bright pink Villanova Television t-shirt yelling about the Villys a few days ago? Oh, wait, that was me.

The Villys, Villanova’s annual film festival for student-made content, was held on Friday, April 14th in the Connelly Center Cinema. 

It is an event that many students have been looking forward to for months. The Villys is VTV’s biggest event of the entire year, and it is an amazing showcase of the incredible talent at Villanova.

This year, the Villys received 19 submissions, a record number. These submissions featured 10 comedies, seven dramas and two short documentaries. 

The Villys also gave out awards for especially outstanding work in various areas of production. Multiple judges, including alumni and professors, gave scores for each film, which then determined the winners.

Senior Ally Weitzman is one of the original creators of the Villys.

“People should submit [to the Villys] because they have the opportunity to see their films on the big screen, win prizes and meet new people,” Weitzman said. “People should come because it’s a fun movie night and you get to watch such great content.”

The Villys are also ACS approved, so anyone in an ACS class can use the Villys as a way to satisfy the ACS requirement. 

Though I am a sophomore, I am currently enrolled in Moderns and made sure to pitch the Villys as an entertaining and fun event throughout the semster. I was very pleased that some of my classmates actually attended the Villys, so I will take this moment to extend my gratitude to them.

This year, the Villys was hosted by Noel Doherty, the creator and host of popular TikTok series like College Cribs and NoelBAskin. Doherty brought his well-known zest and excellent crowd skills to the Cinema on Friday. 

When there were some technical difficulties, he was able to keep the crowd engaged and enthused with his positive attitude and improvisational comedic prowess. Doherty also introduced awards at the end of the event. 

Among these awards were Best Comedy, which went to “Stick to the Plan,” a short film about students plotting a heist to change their grades, and Best Drama, which went to “Not Enough Time,” a short film about a boy who investigates a myth to attempt to travel through time. 

“Not Enough Time” also won the Standout Villys Filmmaker Award for its overall quality and impressive cinematography.

Dan Mezzalingua was the writer and director of “Not Enough Time.”

“It was a great experience making my film last summer and I’m happy I got to show it to the Villanova community,” Mezzalingua said. “Credit to VTV for making that possible by organizing the Villys. It’s great to be able to see films from Villanova students.”

So, what makes the Villys so special? I think it is the fact that no two films are the same. Every film told a unique story, literally through the lenses of numerous different people. The Villys are about sharing our stories with the student body, stories that we have worked hard to create, perfect and communicate to others. 

It is vital to understand and appreciate that these films were just ideas in someone’s mind before they were born into reality and shown on the big screen. Coming to the Villys and supporting this creative process is truly enriching and rewarding.

This year’s Villys was very successful, at least from my perspective. The behind-the-scenes magic of the VTV Internal Department allowed for a fairly seamless event, at which incredible student talent was truly celebrated. 

I am so grateful to have contributed three of my own films to this year’s Villys awards, and I look forward to participating in the Villys annually for the rest of my time here at Villanova. 

If students missed the Villys this year, they should be sure to look for the Villys again next April, and come support the incredible talents of their fellow students.