Asbury University hosted the 13th annual Highbridge Film Festival on Saturday, April 22 in the Hughes Auditorium.

Over 1,500 people attended the festival, which featured 15 films from Asbury University students and two films from high school students planning to transfer to the college.

The festival — which was founded in 2005 by Asbury University’s Communication Arts Department faculty Jim Owens, Greg Bandy and Jeff Day — is designed to showcase student films.

Asbury’s special events class coordinates the event through advertising, directing, facilitating, and coming up with a theme. This year’s theme was “dream. create. inspire.”

High school student from Georgia, Summer Bicknell, received The Best High School Submission for her production “Hope,” and Josiah Stendel from Richmond received the Special Achievement Award for his trailer “Orphaned Courage.”

Other winners include:

• Best Screenplay – Paul Sigler for “Jonathan Balaam”

• Best Production Design – Heather Nowels for “Jettisoned”

• Best Costuming and Makeup – Tyler Horn and Heather Nowels for “Jettisoned”

• Best Special Visual Effects – Ellen Packer and Cody Nowels for “Story”

• Best Cinematography in Narrative – Kelsey Bundy for “The Exchange Program”

• Best Cinematography in Documentary – Paul Sigler for “Reclaim”

• Best Editing – Paul Sigler for “The Big Stink”

• Best Sound Mixing – Abby Raetz for “Dysphoria”

• Best Sound Editing – J.D. Smith for “I Love You I Hate You”

• Original Music Score – Levi Simonton for “Isaac Sight”

• Best Super Short – Savannah Riley for “Stella”

• Best Graduate Documentary – Bob Gustafson for “Seared”

• Best Documentary – Andrew King for “CanJoe Man” and Paul Sigler for “Reclaim”

• Best Comedy – Paul Sigler for “Jonathan Balaam”

• Best Drama – Savannah Riley for “Stella”

• Best Director – Paul Sigler

• Best Actor – Bryce Hockema for “Jonathan Balaam”

• Best Actress – Brooke Butterworth for “Jettisoned”

• Audience Favorite – Bob Gustafson for “Seared”

This year, the event included several special guests, including Governor Matt Bevin and his daughter, Grace Bevin,

“This is something that is truly remarkable in many respects — to find such an amazing gem here in Wilmore,” Bevin said. “This is something that you would be impressed to see on the campus of any university anywhere in America, and it is fun, it’s entertaining, it’s awesome, and the energy and passion here is contagious. It really is.”