The second annual Visions Film Festival and Conference will be held Friday, March 30 at UNCW where award-winning student filmmakers will present their films. Visions is sponsored by the UNCW Film Department and is the first international film festival and conference showcasing only undergraduate filmmakers and scholars together in one forum. The festival contains a lineup of 18 films this year, which are all the work of national or international undergraduate filmmakers. A list of films can be found at www.visionsfilm.org/films.

This year visions will host keynote speaker Javi Zubizarreta, writer and director of “Zuretzako” and the 2010 recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation’s Undergraduate Scholarship Cary Grant Award. He will begin the festival with his address Friday, March 30 at 9 a.m. in Lumina Theater.

There will be a screening of Zubizarreta’s film, “Zuretzako,” after his first speech. His film discusses the story of his grandfather, a Basque immigrant working in Idaho. “Zuretzako” focuses on his grandfather’s sacrifices and the consequences of his actions. The film’s characters are played by Zubizarreta’s own family members, who act out their individual emotions and reactions of their lives.

“More than that; the movie’s about my grandfather and what he went through. Knowing where I am today is a result of what he did … it felt like something had gone full circle,” said Zubizarreta in an interview for eitb.com.

To prepare for this year’s Visions festival, UNCW student Jonathan Gedney worked with other sponsors of the program searching through multitudes of submissions.

“Visions accept(ed) film and paper submissions from any undergraduate film student,” said Gedney. “The event itself is open to the public and passes can reserved for free online at www.visionsfilm.org/register. Passes are required (for) admittance to all events, including the after party.”

Although the deadline for submitting a film to Visions has passed, undergraduates may still become involved.

“We are hosting the 1Hour/1Take Video Race this year … (which) is open to the public,” said Gedney. “During the festival, all registered video racers get one hour to shoot a one minute video in one take using our cameras. Films that make it past the finish line get screened to our audiences an hour later.”

Props will be assigned at check-in to make things more interesting. Those who make it past the finish line will get to compete for the Audience Choice award. Registration is still open, but spots are filling up quickly. Official rules can be found at the website during registration.

Visions is free to attend, and you can pick up a pass on the day of the event if you forget to reserve one. The registration table outside of Lumina Theater will have passes with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m March 30.