This is the final installment in a four-part series tracking the creative process as Penn State's film/video students shoot, cut and complete their senior films.

After plenty of time spent planning, shooting and editing, student filmmakers will finally get the chance to sit back and just watch this Saturday.

That's when they'll head to the State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave., and watch the 13 films selected for screening in this year's Student Film Festival.

Alyssa Fannick, president of the Student Film Organization, is one of the students excited to be a spectator.

"I think it is absolutely incredible to sit in a classy place like the State Theatre and get to see what thousands of hours of time and energy can produce when students are that dedicated to what they're doing," Fannick said.

The annual event, which sold out last year (its first at the State Theatre), is organized by the Student Film Organization (SFO) and premieres films made by Penn State students during the 2007-08 academic year.

There were 53 student films -- ranging from one to 24 minutes -- submitted last week, which were subsequently narrowed down to a slim 13 by a panel of four judges. Submissions came from all class standings, and most were from film/video majors, though the festival was open to all students, Fannick said.

The judges, who wanted to remain anonymous, were a professor from Kutztown University and three professors from the College of Communications. Members of the film/video department, however, were barred because of the potential conflict of interest.

The judges evaluated the films on general aesthetic, sound quality and "time invested."

Fannick explained the last criterion: "Does it look like it was just slapped together, or does it look like you really invested time in your shots and got it how you wanted to look?"

The panel, which spent all day Sunday weeding through the footage, was required to choose enough films to fill two hours and 20 minutes, the desired length of the show. Whittling that down from the more than eight hours of submissions means there were bound to be surprises and diversity, Fannick said.

"We have experimentals, we have narratives, we have documentaries," she said. "It runs the gamut, it really does."

The reporters also caught up with the filmmakers featured previously in the series to get their reactions to the festival selections.

As Aundrea Posey (senior-film/video) scrolled down the e-mailed list of films selected for the Student Film Festival, some things were missing.

Her name was there, but her friends' weren't.

"I have mixed emotions," she said. "I'm happy for myself, but I felt for those not on the list who worked just as hard and are good friends of mine, too."

Her colleagues Alison Kelly (Little Bird) and Charlie Marks (Unsuicidal) were left stranded in the crosshairs of the tricky jury selection process.

David Cui (senior-film/video), who said he has seen more than half of the films chosen, was generally impressed with the lineup. He added he was pleased to see some of the selected films were made by students outside of the school's film program.

Originally billed as the film's director of photography, Cui is now credited alongside Per Argentine (senior-film/video) as co-director of Sleep, following a suggestion made by Professor Rod Bingaman, who teaches the senior film course. Cui was involved in editing, revising the script and several other production tasks.

"From an artistic point of view, it was only me and Per," Cui said. "It was just the two of us."

Cui shrugged off his new billing, however, and said he is not "crazy about credits."

Co-director Argentine is less shocked by his inclusion in the festival than by the fact that Cui finished editing punctually.

"I'm surprised we got it in on time," said Argentine, whose film Body and Spirit was featured in 2006's festival.

Delivering on his promise to wait until the absolute last minute, Cui submitted the print at 4:58 p.m. on Friday, a mere two minutes before the festival deadline.

He voluntarily confined himself to the Pollock Building's multimedia lab from Tuesday to Thursday of last week.

"People brought me food," he said.

Cui can look forward to additional time in the lab in the weeks following Saturday's event. He and Argentine plan to continue "tweaking and refining" their product before it is due in class during finals week.

"There's always a scene or shot that could be improved," Argentine said. "Small, little things."

The Student Film Festival will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at The State Theatre, 130 W, College Ave. There will be a recap of the film festival in Monday's Daily Collegian.