The Iowa Motion Picture Association held its annual awards ceremony during the weekend, and students and staff from Iowa State were among those recognized by the association.

“Escape Velocity,” an action-adventure film written and directed by Dan Mundt, temporary instructor of journalism and mass communication, took home three first prizes as well as two awards of excellence.

The film is a fictional story set in 1945 and focuses on a woman who is a member of the WASPs (Women Air Force Service Pilots) who plays a key role in the United States’ efforts in World War II. Mundt and his crew worked on the movie for more than 18 months. Having that hard work and dedication recognized is something that means a lot to Mundt and others involved in the film.

“We all thought that we were doing pretty good work, and it’s nice to know that other people think that we are doing pretty good work as well,” Mundt says.

Aaron Siskow, graduate student in journalism and mass communication, says that although he believed the movie would win in such categories as best direction, he was surprised at his selection for best lighting.

“It was definitely not expected as far as lighting,” Siskow says. “We had heard a lot of things from people who had seen it who liked the look of the video. You never expect to win, but it’s neat to get recognized.”

Mundt says that the finalists for the awards are chosen by the Iowa Motion Picture Association, who then send them to an out-of-state panel to choose a winner. Mundt and Siskow said that they didn’t want to sound arrogant, but both believed that “Escape Velocity” would fare well in the selections.

“It sounds like tooting my own horn or something, but it just seemed like we would clean up,” Siskow says.

“I had a pretty good feeling going into it,” Mundt adds. “I think that everybody noted that the acting and production were really good on the movie.”

The award isn’t the first for Mundt and company. Earlier this year, the movie won first prize in the narrative category of the Broadcast Education Association 2002 International BEA Festival of Film, Video, and Media Arts.

“Escape Velocity” wasn’t the only ISU project to bring home an award, though. Andrew Langager, a graduate student in journalism and mass communication, won an award for excellence for “Persistence of Vision: The Making of Harbingers of the Realm.” Langager, who was also involved in “Escape Velocity,” was the director of the film that he describes as a “fictional documentary of the making of a bad sci-fi movie.”

Rua Pokladnik and Cody Jans, both seniors in journalism and mass communication, also took home an award of excellence for their work on “54.”

The awards of excellence are given to the projects that do not win first prize, but are finalists for the award.