Backlight shines a spotlight on student films

Students participate in an interview on the red carpet in front of a Backlight step and repeat. (Photos/Chamberlain Smith (AB '18)/UGA Marketing and Communications)
UGA student correspondent Cole Doherty, center, interviews hosts Whit Pope and Talia Bloch on the red carpet at Backlight Student Film Festival in Tate Student Center on March 30, 2025. (Photos/Chamberlain Smith (AB '18)/UGA Marketing and Communications)

Backlight shines a spotlight on student films

May 02, 2025

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt of a feature originally posted on UGA Beyond the Arch. To read the complete feature and see the videos and photos, visit that webpage.

Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca. 

All are top of mind when thinking of premier film festivals, but for film students in Georgia, Backlight is the place to screen and be seen.

The Backlight Student Film Festival celebrated its fourth year at the University of Georgia’s Tate Student Center on March 29 and 30 with screenings, panel discussions, awards, networking and a red carpet.

While the festival has its roots at UGA, it invites undergraduate and graduate student filmmakers from across Georgia to submit films and welcomes the community to join in the festivities.  

The Origins

In 2021, Rayna Sklar and twin sisters Aleesa and Cate de Castro were brainstorming ways to spotlight the films they and their classmates were creating in the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies at UGA’s Grady College. 

They decided to start a film festival through their work with student organizations. But it was only a matter of time before the fledgling effort evolved into a nonprofit organization complete with a board of directors, sponsors, and participation from around the state.

“Backlight started as a platform to give students the ability to showcase their work, and I think it’s something we’ve seen continue to inspire and encourage future filmmakers,” says Cate de Castro, a 2023 UGA graduate who now works as a West Coast Page with NBCUniversal.

Sklar and the de Castros researched other film festivals, and the de Castros attended Grady’s Cannes Film Study Abroad program in the summer of 2022. 

“It definitely opened our eyes to that space,” Cate says. “We really saw the impact of networking at this event and how we could elevate our screenings to make them feel top-notch.”

Please visit UGA Beyond the Arch to read the rest of the feature and view videos and photos of the event.

Author: Sarah Freeman, freemans@uga.edu

Group portrait of Backlight Student Film Festival Board and Grady College alumni Cate de Castro, Julia Turner, Ryan Hernan, Rayna Sklar, and Aleesa de Castro at Ciné in downtown Athens.