Thanks to creativity, imagination, and hard work, San Bernardino Valley College's inaugural Wolverine Con was successfully moved online. 
 
SBVC's annual International Student Film Festival is now part of Wolverine Con, and this year, the festival had more than 85 submissions from around the globe. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, "the plans and logistics had to be reimagined to adhere to shelter-in-place and social distancing rules," Lucas Cuny, assistant professor of Radio, Television, and Film, said. 
 
Wolverine Con was planned as a way for different departments to collaborate, with art students creating event posters and theater students involved in an expo, panel discussion, and cosplay competition. 
 
"Other areas of cross collaboration on campus would have included — if not for COVID-19 — panel discussions featuring students from the Business Info Tech Department and the hiring of the SBVC Food Truck for the opening night event and lunches for pass holders during Friday screenings," Cuny said. 
 
Of the 85 film festival submissions, 46 were made by high school students, 32 by undergraduates, and seven from graduate level students. Their films were broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook, and judged by a jury of industry professionals, including filmmaker Pryde Pierce; Richard Itskovich of Sony Pictures Distribution; and Lacey Kendall of KCAL 96.7. 
 
This year's Grand Jury winner was Meow by Grace Wang of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco; this is the second year that an animated film won the Grand Jury prize. SBVC student Jacob Hickman was also named Best Director for his Star Wars fan film Powertrade. Prizes included cash, gift cards, and free software licenses for screenwriting and visual effects programs. 
 
Through donations, sponsorships, and submission fees, this year's festival brought in $3,449. 
 
"Overall, given the circumstances of this year’s event, it is a success," Cuny said.  
 
The plan is to develop even more programing and additional educational activities in the years ahead, and the dates have already been set for the 2021 Wolverine Con and International Student Film Festival: March 30 to April 2.