St. Olaf Film Production Society (FPS) is a club helping students explore their passion for filmmaking that has gained traction with its recent success. It was restarted in 2021 after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The club focuses on film production, making projects to be submitted to festivals, and giving hands-on experience for the film industry.
While the club is composed of mostly film and media studies majors, students of all majors are welcome.
Club members form a strong bond and comradery through the experience. “Everyone in the club is friends,” said Juliet Stouffer ’27, the committee chair. “The first time we were on a film set together, I hung out with these guys for 13 hours straight… I learned so much, and I couldn’t believe that I was on a film set. It was long but so worth it.”
The club’s recent project “Predictable” has won three awards so far. Written and directed by Aubrey Connett ’24, it follows Ellison, a girl who lives in a time loop, enjoying her predictability and routine, while another girl, Layla, is trying to escape the time loop. “The goal of the script was to flip normal time loop movies on their heads, [and to] explore meaninglessness in a time loop and the consequences of actions,” Connett said.
Writing of “Predictable” began in fall 2023, and shooting started in January. The majority of it was filmed at St. Olaf, like most of the club’s projects. By mid-spring, filming had wrapped up, and once the final edit was done in July, they began submitting it to festivals.
St. Olaf FPS submits through a site called FilmFreeway, which has festivals all over the world listed. Focusing on student categories, they submitted to the Paris Play Film Festival, where they won the Best Student category for the second year in a row. They also entered the Eagan Art Block Short Film Festival and won Best Student Film, and were runner-up for Best of the Festival Overall, a category that included non-student films. This marked the first non-student category award FPS has won, as well as their first domestic festival win. They are still waiting to hear back from other festivals, as some are running until May, 2025.
The executive board members were stunned by their success, and wanted to keep growing.
“We have to continue to snowball and get more members and get them to understand more film so that this can keep happening forever,” Stouffer said.
“It takes a village to make a film, and ultimately it’s a lot of work,” said Carson Lane ’26, club president and assistant director of “Predictable.” “[Club members] don’t get paid to do this… this is completely out of our own will and own time and we’re trying to make something that we’re passionate about. It takes a lot of trial and error and learning, and it’s a very fun environment.”
Meetings are on Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Rolvaag Memorial Library 115. To stay updated, follow the club’s Instagram, @fps_stolaf, and check out their YouTube, “St. Olaf Film Production Society,” to watch their other films. Though the film is not officially out yet, there will be a showing of “Predictable” on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Viking Theater.
“You hear about when St. Olaf wins a sports game, and you hear about other groups, but I think St. Olaf film ended up being so underground,” Connett said. “For people to come and watch what we’re putting on… it’s like we’re proving we’re doing something special that people should be interested in even if they’re not interested in film.”
