Updated: Wednesday, April 7, 2010

UCF alumna Erin Kitzinger was recently recognized for her full length feature film, Hope for a Thorn, which was featured at the Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa on March 21.

The film, which is about a relationship between a grandmother and child, was shown at a packed theater and was voted an audience favorite. 

The film was written and directed by Kitzinger, who graduated in 2008.

As part of the first graduating class from the Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema track of the Master of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Media program at UCF, she worked on the script for more than two years.

The film was shot in Orlando and surrounding Central Florida areas.

“I was fortunate to have close relationships with several professors at UCF,” Kitzinger said. “They have been a true inspiration and played a huge role in shaping me as a filmmaker.”

One of Kitzinger’s professors and mentors at UCF, Randy Finch, said Kitzinger made an impression on him because of her perseverance. 

“She was totally committed to her film,” Finch said. “While pursuing her vision, she never wavered. To succeed as a filmmaker, you’ve got to have a single-minded — some might say stubborn — dedication to see the job through.”

Kitzinger said the film focuses on issues of family and redemption. She was inspired during a car ride to UCF, where she observed the behaviors of a family in a nearby vehicle.

In October, Kitzinger traveled to California for the LA Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles, but said Gasparilla was more personal because it took place near her hometown.

“It was a tremendous honor to play Gasparilla because it felt like coming home,” Kitzinger said. “This film has been a huge part of my life for five years, and to be able to bring it back to Tampa Bay and share it with some of the people that made it possible was wonderful.”

The Gasparilla International Film Festival just wrapped up its fourth year, and there were more than 6,000 attendees this year, according to Charles Moore, president of the festival’s board of directors. 

“We have quickly developed a national reputation with our programming, so Erin’s win at our festival, as a young filmmaker, is remarkable,” Moore said. 

Kitzinger said the Gasparilla Film Festival was only the beginning of a long journey, which will include travels to the Delray Beach Film Festival and the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg in April.

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