SAGU Student Film “Murdoch” Wins Three Awards

Waxahachie, TX – May 12, 2011 – Southwestern Assemblies of God University’s Communication Arts department received three awards for their most recent student film “Murdoch” at the WorldFest Film Festival in Houston, TX. The film won a Gold Award (2nd place) for all Short Film Cinematography and two Platinum Awards (first place) for Short Film Editing and Short Film Screenwriting.

Executive Producer of “Murdoch” and SAGU Digital Media Professor Rob Price states, “One award from WorldFest would have been an accomplishment, but to win three is just amazing. ‘Murdoch’ competed against all short films in these categories, not just other collegiate productions.”

This is the second contest where “Murdoch” has won an award. Earlier this year “Murdoch” won 3rd place for Student Productions at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, TN. The short film has been nominated for Best Student Film and Best Costuming at Barebones Film Festival in Muskogee, OK, and nominated for an award at New Hope Film Festival in New Hope, PA.

“With all of the long hours spent on writing, shooting, and editing, these honors validate and reward all the hard work the entire crew put in on this project,” says Assistant Director and Editor Tim Roberts.

Early pre-production for “Murdoch” began in December of 2009 with SAGU students Amber Williams and Jesse Dale writing the screenplay. Thirty-two students took part in the 3-month pre-production in Spring 2010, followed by two intensive weeks of filming in May. The film was then edited during the following months before debuting before a full house at the Historic Texas Theater in Downtown Waxahachie on November 4, 2010.

“Murdoch” is SAGU’s second major student film project. The first project “Breaking News” also won a Platinum award for Best Short Film Cinematography at WorldFest in 2009.

“Murdoch” and other SAGU student projects can be viewed at www.sagu.tv.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) is a private, Christian university located in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 60 associate, bachelor’s or master’s degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.