With movie poster designs, Commercial Art students leave their imprint on upcoming Film Festival

The FirstDance Film Festival is scheduled for May 14, 2025 at Westchester Community College

With the excitement building around the Center for Career Services’ first-ever film festival, it won’t just be the student filmmakers whose work is showcased when the event comes to Westchester Community College May 14.

Students from the Commercial Art program recently completed movie posters, which were designed to help promote the eight student films scheduled to be shown that evening. The creative, colorful posters are now on display in the hallways on campus and will also be featured in WCC’s Gateway Center Building when guests attend the FirstDance Film Festival next month.

“It’x exciting to know that other people will see my work,” said Commercial Art student Valerie Meda, a senior from New Rochelle. “I like when other people give my work attention, and this will probably be an opportunity for more people to see my work than ever before.”

The collaboration between programs will be a hallmark of the film festival. Students from the TV/Video Production program will produce the short films, but the contributions of Commercial Art and Sound Production students will be a key part of this special event. Additionally, students from various programs were cast as actors in the films.

For the movie posters, three Commercial Art students were assigned earlier this spring to work with one of the filmmakers. They learned about the film and created a movie poster design that would help represent that film’s story. The students shared their designs, received feedback, and then made changes to suit the filmmaker’s wishes.

Said Commercial Art instructor Damian Powers: “They went through every step in the design process.”

Ultimately, one of the three movie poster designs was selected for each film, including Meda’s poster for classmate Shane Gordon’s film “30 Minutes.”

Meda described her design as surrealist, and said it incorporated important elements visual elements from Gordon’s film.

“I looked at old movie posters from the 90s,” Meda said. “I really like the comic-book style.”

Although his students had creative ideas and inspirations, Powers described the student filmmakers as the clients. His students had to learn about what their clients wanted and then strive to meet their needs.

“This process is really advantageous for our students,” Powers said. “To be part of a real-life film festival and gain this real-world experience, it’s a big deal for them.”