Randolph film students’ award-winning short to screen at festival this weekend

A group of Randolph College film and video students turned two days of creative chaos into a big win last spring.

Led by professor Dusty Abernathy, the team—Halli Friend ’27, Renee Enzor ’25, Gabe Barragan ’25, Wes Ward ’27, Layla Ammon ’27, and Lee Martin ’26—took home Best Picture at the Lynchburg 48-Hour Film Challenge in March. 

Now the winning entry, Mystery in The Music Hall, will be shown this weekend during the Lynchburg Film Festival. 

The screening is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Academy Center of the Arts—part of the festival’s Local Block, eight movies made by Hill City filmmakers. 

The 48-Hour Film Challenge was modeled after similar events across the country, where teams write, shoot, and edit a film in two days. The competitions usually begin on a Friday night, where teams write and cast their scripts, find props, secure locations, and create a production schedule—all before filming begins on Saturday. 

“They basically told us, ‘Just go make a movie,’” said Friend, a film and video major. “After thinking about horror and comedy, we came up with a Scooby Doo-type of story.”

They recruited friends and fellow students to star in the film and shot at locations on campus, from Leggett to Presser. Once filming wrapped, they began editing immediately, working through the night to shape the story from raw footage. 

“I’ve competed in several 48-hour film races, and they’re always a sprint,” Abernathy said. “Honestly, just finishing a film in that time frame is an accomplishment, but in this case, we won Best Picture. I’m incredibly proud of our students for rising to the challenge.”

Friend said the experience and their subsequent win can be attributed  to teamwork. 

“It felt like we were all kids, with less experience,” she said. “For many of us, it was our first time filming. We were all kind of in shock, but I’m glad we did because it shows that, with the right group, you can do anything.”  

Abernathy hopes it becomes a tradition among Randolph students.

“Projects like this push students beyond the classroom and into the real pace of filmmaking,” he said. “They learn collaboration, problem-solving, and to trust their instincts. I hope it showed our students what they’re capable of accomplishing.”