Each year at Comic-Con, the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival (SDICFF) presents a curated collection of films for audiences of all ages. As well as showcasing high-quality films for young people and families, the festival supports young filmmakers by providing opportunities for collaboration and networking within the film industry at the world’s largest pop culture event.
Films by emerging filmmakers at the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television are regularly recognized at SDICFF. This year, Jordan Fouts (‘25) and Amanda Garabedian (‘24) presented their short film Active Imagination at the festival, marking the fourth consecutive year that TFTV films have been selected for SDICFF and screened at Comic-Con.
Active Imagination follows Amelia, a young detective want-to-be, who puts her sleuthing skills to the test after observing some suspicious activity while on vacation. Programmer Dan Bennett said that the film was an easy selection to make. “It’s fun, colorful, offbeat, well acted and directed, and full of energy and crafty surprises,” he said.
Jordan and Amanda shared some highlights from their Comic-Con experience.
Walk us through how your film came to be part of the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival.
We first heard about the festival when we learned that one of our fellow University of Arizona students had been a part of it in the past. Given its connections to San Diego Comic-Con it was something we became very interested in and we wanted to find out more about how Active Imagination could be considered. We were thrilled when [TFTV’s Director of Industry and Outreach] Kerryn Negus pitched the film to the festival programmer, and he liked it! We were so excited when we received the news that we were going to present our work at San Diego Comic-Con and couldn’t be more honored to be part of such an amazing festival.
At Comic-Con, in what ways did you participate as festival filmmakers in the lead-up to your screening?
The main way in which we participated in the festival leading up to the screening was by hanging out at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival table and passing out flyers about our film. We spent a lot of time there throughout the event talking to Comic-Con guests about the festival, our film, and all of the other amazing filmmakers’ flyers on the table. It was so much fun interacting with so many people and helping create excitement for not only our film, but the festival as a whole. It was also so much fun going to support our fellow filmmakers who we met throughout the course of the Comic-Con. Everyone had such amazing work, and it was really inspiring to hear about their projects.
Panels have become a cornerstone of Comic-Con’s popularity. What was it like to talk about your own film at a Comic-Con panel?
It was a surreal experience getting to show and discuss our work at a Comic-Con in general, but it being San Diego Comic-Con made it even more special. This is such an iconic event that is very important to so many people, so it meant the world to us to be a part of it. Being at Comic-Con ourselves and getting to see the speakers and panels that we were interested in was inspiring, and knowing that we were getting to do the same thing was the experience of a lifetime. It really made us feel like part of the industry and was a dream come true. We also loved that our panel was something the kids in the crowd could enjoy and feel involved in!
How many people attended your screening and panel?
The room seemed to be almost filled from our point of view. A huge crowd came in around the time we were going on, so that was super exciting for us. We really enjoyed hearing everyone react to the film. It was so much fun answering all of their questions afterwards as well. It meant the world to us that so many people showed so much interest in our lead character and expressed a desire to see more of her.
Did you have a chance to meet and interact with other filmmakers at the festival? What kind of connections did you make?
We got to meet many of our fellow filmmakers by tabling with them as well as going to their screenings. It was so much fun sharing the details of our projects with each other and learning about everyone’s different backgrounds and journeys with filmmaking. We found it particularly interesting to hear about different film school programs across the country and see the different art mediums each filmmaker chose! We also learned about many things we have in common with each other which was great for building relationships that could potentially lead to collaboration in the future. It was important to us to show up and support our fellow artists during the festival as we wanted to follow through with the bonds we had created throughout the course of Comic-Con and see everyone’s work on the big screen.
What are your takeaways from your Comic-Con experience? In what ways have you been inspired?
Keep creating!! There were so many unique ideas that made us wonder how the creators could have possibly come up with them, and it just goes to show what can come out of being confident in your creative vision and having the perseverance to see it through. We were so inspired by all of the different films because not only were they different in artistic mediums, but they were different in message as well. There are so many different people with so many different interests, and it is important to remember that if you put your heart and soul into a project, it is always worth it.
Anything else to add?
We would like to thank Dan Bennett at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival for all of his work in putting this festival together! He worked so hard, and we are very appreciative. We would also like to give a huge thank-you to our advisor Kerryn Negus at the University of Arizona. None of this would have been possible without her! She has been so supportive of us and our film, and we have learned so much from her. We also want to thank our professors at the University of Arizona for their help, as well as our amazing cast and crew. We were so touched to have worked with such amazing people that made this whole experience so positive. This was an experience of a lifetime for us, and we hope to work with everyone again in the future!