People have been going to California to make movies for a long time.

For the second year in a row, Providence students claimed first prize in the college category in the annual Prairie Grass Film Challenge hosted by Dordt College.

Sophomore Johnathan Kruis led the effort that included a handful of Providence students as well as local friend Aaron Grimes, whose cousin Sarah Grimes is a sophomore at Providence. The students’ winning film “My Brother’s Deal” can be watched here. Due to the urgent timeframe of the contest, most of the film was shot in the early morning hours, allowing for a beautiful scene as the sun rose.

The contest required participants to write, shoot, and edit a short film all in 48 hours. On top of that, each submission had to follow the specific criteria including a certain prop, line, character, and genre. This year, everyone’s film had to be a western, which was no doubt made easier because of the San Gabriel Mountains 2 miles north of the Providence campus.

Dordt College held the awards ceremony on Friday, February 15,  in Sioux Center, Iowa to announce the winners of the contest. Former Providence students Becca Konynenbelt and Dylan Van Dyk were in attendance to accept the award on Providence’s behalf.

“It was great to represent Providence at the awards ceremony and to see everyone in the auditorium loving the film!” Konyenbelt said afterward.

This continued involvement with filmmaking corresponds with two classes offered this semester: Professor Troy Lamberth’s inaugural Advanced Film and Video Production and Professor Bernard Chadwick’s Art Appreciation Class. Lamberth has been teaching the finer points of video production and editing. One of the assignments has been to make Providence ads. Chadwick, on the other hand, has been focusing on art history in his class.