After three years competing in the Jay Sanders Film Festival and Competition at Auburn University (and not having any of my comedies as finalists), I decided to go down with a couple schoolmates to check out the high school films that got the top honors as well as the college films. Though I was not that impressed with the majority of the films, "That's the Name of That Tune" easily stood out as the best short of the evening.
The story is rather touching and plays out with characterization the audience can easily empathize with; bonds are instantly formed with the protagonists: an elderly former clarinet player in a big band and a young restaurant worker. The story is relatively original and was compelling from the first to the last minute. The movie is beautifully shot for an indie film and was reminiscent of a 1980's made-for-TV movie but in a good way. The acting was relatively good especially the older characters and the music worked perfectly. The editing was very clean as well.
Out of all of those films shown at the festival, this is the only one I would probably watch if it was on television. It was definitely an audience favorite though I feel (in the most professional English possible) that the film was unjustly placed by the judges and should have received top honors. I would recommend seeing this excellent college film and feeling the nostalgia of jazz warm your heart with big brass and beautiful film making.
