The sixth-annual Fault Line Film Festival had its gala screening on Friday, where 14 student short films were screened.

"It was a difficult process because we had a really competitive field," Fred Jones, Southeast Missouri State University TV and film professor, said. "Some really good films got cut out of the festival. So it's always hard to come to that final 14, but I'm happy with the 14 we've come up with. There was good variety."

Thirty-two student filmmakers submitted to the festival by Nov. 2, with half of those entries coming from various colleges and universities across the midwest.

"I thought the festival was fantastic," Jones said. "We had a good turnout, a fun crowd and had a good response to all the films. We had filmmakers come from out of town, all the way from Iowa. I'm just thrilled by how it went."

The 14 films ranged from animation to family drama to a serial killer suspense to a music video. Southeast senior Madison Friend won the top judged prize, Best of Festival, with her film "Jack and Alice."

"I wasn't even planning on making a film this year," Friend said. "I did one two years ago, and I wanted to do one this year, but I really wasn't sure. I wasn't planning for it until I had an advising meeting with Fred Jones, and he was like 'So you're going to make a film?' And I was like, 'Ah, I don't know.'"

After she decided to do a film, she didn't know if she wanted it to be dark or a comedy, and eventually decided on doing both. "Jack and Alice" starts with a zombie chase scene, where two zombies find and eat two victims. Then the film shifts to the love story of the two zombies with the song "Close to You" by the Carpenters playing.

"I just came up with the idea of zombies and all of these different gags -- some of them worked, some of them didn't," Friend said. "Some of my actors dropped out, so it almost didn't happen."

The gags included holding hands till one of their hands breaks off, scaring small children so they could use a swing set and trying to fly a kite while not being able to walk properly. Friend said winning the top award meant a lot and showed her she has to keep writing and directing in the future.

"I can't stop doing it. I just have to keep going and keep learning new things," Friend said. "I'm a senior, I won't be here next year, so after that I'd like to write and direct maybe, so I'm hoping to find somewhere to do that."

The night's other top award was the Cape Air Audience Choice Award, which was voted on by the audience at the end of the screenings. Stephanie Salyer, a junior TV and film major at Southeast, won the award for her film "Be Persistent."

"It's exciting," Salyer said after the gala. "It probably won't die down for a couple more days. I finally got over [winning Best Comedy on] Wednesday this morning, so this started it all over again."

"Be Persistent" was Salyer's first film for the festival, and chronicled a guy trying multiple times to ask a girl out on a date and locking his keys in his house when they actually have their first date. Salyer said she thought her film connected with the audience because of the relatability of being around someone you like and having things go wrong at the worst times.

"Things will always go wrong in real life. It happened to us while we were filming, and it happened to the guy in the film," Salyer said. "And people like happy endings, and in the end he gets the girl. I heard people go 'Awww,' and I was like 'Yes, it worked,' because I was afraid it was too sappy. That was the part I wasn't sure about."

Salyer included bloopers during her credits because of all the various struggles they had during filming. During the shoot, Salyer said they broke a car door as well as a window. She said that, despite the challenges, making the film proved she could have a future as a filmmaker.

"I know I want to do a master's later on, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do TV and film or maybe anthropology," Salyer said. "At first it was anthropology, but now I'm thinking maybe the other one. It seems to be working."

Some of the other winners included Jon Dziuk for Best Drama, Rhett Thompson for Best Mystery/Suspense, Kestrel Erickson for Best Animation, David Keninger for Best Other and Jesse Bader for Judges' Award. Greg Wolgast, David Keninger and Elizabeth Davis each got honorable mentions.