Notes from the CSUMB Cinematic Arts & Technology Fall Capstone Film Festival.

The holidays came and rearranged much of my schedule, but this film festival on Dec. 19 was one of the most energizing events of the year. And not just because my wife, Enid Baxter Ryce, is the chair of the film department, though that makes it extra special for me.

But it's the energy of the young filmmakers that turns it out. They're energetic and nervous, like electricity seeking ground. They're buoyant as helium balloons. They're merry and serious and giddy about their work. About 14 of them (pictured above) were on hand to premiere the last batch of films that are the culminating and final project of their study at CSUMB.

And what a crazy diverse batch of films they were.

A piece called Someday—written, directed and produced by Haiden Citrine—started things off on a bittersweet note about a young woman who, on the verge of proposing to the love of her life, another young woman, gets hit by a car, flipping a story about young love into young mourning. All in the span of 4 and a half minutes.

Adapted, by Nathan Hammer, is a documentary about the Monterey Peninsula College rehab class and the heroic efforts of its clients trying to re-teach their bodies to do things that many people take for granted.

Director and producer Jaymie Lee Moore's Julienne watches a young OCD woman chef devolve into insanity when things don't go her way. It manages to be dark, light and funny all at once, in the tradition of other culinary films like Delicatessen.

There was a short documentary interview film (most of them ran about 5 minutes) in Spanish with English subtitles called Gerardo. There was a dark animated piece titled The Maw by animator Jessica Moss that truly earned its R rating—shotgun, kitty cat, and that's all I'll say about that. Departing Innocence, by director Michol Rios, is a heated family argument between brothers that takes place in a cemetery and contains a big revelation—a 4-plus-minute scene all done in one shot.

All of CSUMB's various majors present their students' capstone projects over the course of a day, including photography, oral histories, exhibits, research presentations, business proposals and computer demonstrations. The film capstone played twice throughout the day, the second of which drew about 120 people—friends, family, supporters and onlookers who know that it is among the most engaging highlights in the academic careers of these students, as well as a launching pad for their future endeavors, whether that involves film or not.

I showed my short films (on VHS) at a similar type of end-of-semester screening as part of my film classes at Monterey Peninsula College in the early '90s—music videos using Fishbone (coming to Monterey in 2015), Love & Rockets, Billie Holiday, De La Soul and My Bloody Valentine as soundtracks. It's a moment so saturated with emotion that it's hard to think as it's happening, but it becomes a moment of pride you never forget. I have those videos still. Maybe one day I'll surmount my embarrassment and show them to my wife.