A film produced by an Iowa State instructor and ISU students captured a first place finish in an international film festival recently.

“Escape Velocity,” written and directed by Dan Mundt, temporary instructor of journalism and mass communication, won first prize in the narrative category of the Broadcast Education Association 2002 International BEA Festival of Film, Video, and Media Arts.

“The award is a little bit surprising,” Mundt said. “I actually was unaware that it was an international contest when we entered.”

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 played a key role in the United States’ efforts in World War II. Mundt said an issue of Air and Space Magazine inspired his decision to focus on this topic.

“I always thought that it would be interesting to find a way to work a woman into a story about an era where women did more to help than just stay at home and work in factories,” Mundt said. “Women were pilots to allow men to go overseas and fight.”

Mundt and his volunteer cast and crew began filming in the summer of 2000. He was aided by a primary crew of seven students and six main actors, with many other students playing minor roles and standing in as extras in the film. The production of the film took 18 months, as Mundt said the film is “special effects intensive.”

“I think [the award] is a reflection of the team effort that went into making the film,” Mundt said. “No one person can make a film.”

Andrew Langager, one of the camera operators for the film, said he really enjoyed and benefited from the experience he gained in working on “Escape Velocity.”

“Dan passed on a lot of his knowledge,” Langager, graduate student in journalism and mass communications, said. “Working with him was great because he taught everyone all he knew and then we worked on an equal level.”

Mundt will receive the first place honor at the Broadcast Education Association Convention in Las Vegas, Nev., that runs from April 6-8.

“Escape Velocity” will be shown Friday at 8 p.m. in the Design Center theater. A reception will precede the movie at 7 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.