Sunday, November 30, 2025–3:40 p.m.
-Berry College News Release-
Berry College students recently showcased their award-winning work at the Rome International Film Festival.
The festival featured a screening of college student films, including “#CRUNK,” produced by Berry student multi-media outlet Viking Fusion. The short film, created as part of Berry’s 48 Hour Film Challenge, won first place in the Short Film Fiction category at the 2025 National Student Production Awards.
The film follows a young woman who starts taking a new medication and discovers unsettling side effects at a college party. The student production team included Joey Fletcher, of Ringgold, Victoria Severiche, of Duluth, Mason Mancini, of Woodstock, Savannah Talley, of Rome, Logan Stastny, of Newberry, S.C., Larkin West, of Auburn, Ala., Nate Pedigo, of Signal Mountain, Tenn., and Arista Elderkin of Woodbridge, Va.
“It was so exciting to see our little 48-hour film challenge come so far! I was very grateful to meet up with a community of talented filmmakers and share our creations,” said Mancini. “#CRUNK was never supposed to be too serious, so it really shows how a team can be successful if they just relax and have fun.”
The film festival also featured Berry Assistant Professor of Communication Margaret Ndwandwe, who participated in a panel discussion about Ken Burns’ latest documentary series, “The American Revolution.” Ndwandwe, a filmmaker and scholar of rhetoric and media, praised the production as “an incredible film” that exemplifies Burns’ signature approach while showcasing technological advances in documentary filmmaking.
Written by student public relations associate Emma-Louise Ramus