Stephens College Acting Majors Earn Top Honors at True/False Gimme Truth! Competition
Two Stephens College acting majors earned top honors at the annual Gimme Truth! Competition, one of the most entertaining events of the True/False Film Fest.
Part film screening, part improv challenge, the event asks filmmakers to present two-minute short films based on personal stories. The twist? The audience and judges must determine whether the story behind the film is true or completely fabricated.
Out of the 10 films featured in the competition, Stephens’ own Avery McDonald earned second place for her film Alone, while Luke Holden took third place with his comedic short, I Blame Chalamet.
Learning filmmaking while telling stories
McDonald’s second-place film Alone was created as an assignment in her first filmmaking class. The film was about a day in the middle of summer when she was home alone and was hearing strange noises upstairs. Thinking her house was haunted, she went to check after hearing a loud noise and a skunk jumped out and sprayed her in the face.
Despite being early in her studies, she said the project allowed her to apply new technical skills while telling a compelling story.
“I’m very happy with what I did,” McDonald said. “I put a lot of hard work into it. It took a lot of editing, and it’s a bunch of stuff that I had just learned in those first couple of weeks of the first semester.”
The opportunity to showcase the project in front of a packed audience at The Blue Note made the experience even more memorable.
Photo provided by Cj Ward, Filmmaking Student
Comedy, improv and “ice cream of death”
Holden’s third-place film, I Blame Chalamet, was a fictional YouTube-commentary-style documentary recounting a disastrous high school first date inspired by the film, Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet.
In Holden’s humorous retelling, the date took a dramatic turn after a stop for ice cream.
“But here’s the thing: I am incredibly lactose intolerant,” Holden said laughing. “To put it plainly, I threw up all over his car after romantically sharing the ice cream of death.”
The exaggerated story—and Holden’s confident performance during the onstage questioning—had the audience roaring with laughter.
“I was immediately drawn to this because I love making my own little videos and movies that are just stupid and dumb,” Holden said. “I love to make people laugh, and I’m really good at lying.”
Although he wasn’t expecting to place in the competition, Holden said the experience was deeply rewarding.
“All I wanted to do in the Gimme Truth competition was to have fun and make people laugh,” he said. “To do that and be awarded for it is a very fulfilling thing.”
Holden also said the project pushed him creatively. Before taking his filmmaking class, he had never used Adobe Premiere and had to learn the editing software quickly while producing the film.
“I learned a lot in a very short amount of time for this project,” he said. “Working the camera was so fun, too. I’ve always loved making little movies with my friends, but to make my own film by myself was very freeing.”
His background in improv also helped him navigate the unpredictable onstage questioning from judges.
“As an acting major, I get to stretch that muscle every day,” Holden said. “Whether it’s performance assignments, improv games, or even making something up on the spot.”
A rare opportunity at True/False
According to Chase Thompson, associate professor of film and chair of the filmmaking program at Stephens, the students’ success is especially notable given how competitive the event is.
“This is really exciting,” Thompson said. “Gimme Truth only programs 10 two-minute films, so for Stephens to occupy 20 percent of the lineup is pretty special.”
He added that the event is consistently one of the most sought-after tickets during the festival.
“It’s always one of the first True/False events to sell out, and I’m just thrilled Luke and Avery get to have this experience on The Blue Note stage,” Thompson said.
Looking ahead
For Holden, the competition is only the beginning. The acting major says he’s already thinking about ideas for future films.
“I was even thinking of new ideas while I was sitting in The Blue Note waiting for the event to start,” he said. “Film is such a perfect medium because there are so many possibilities.”
With their creativity, humor and storytelling skills on display at one of the festival’s most popular events, both students proved that the next generation of filmmakers and performers at Stephens is ready for the spotlight.
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