MediaLab receives three major recognitions for “Waste Not” film

MediaLab has received three prestigious recognitions for its 2014 original documentary, Waste Not: Breaking Down the Food Equation.

Waste Not, which explores global food waste and hunger, received a national second-place award from the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) Festival of Media Arts Competition, a Rising-Star Award from the Canada International Film Festival (CIFF), and a grand prize finalist nomination from the National Broadcasting Society (NBS), all in the categories of long-form documentary.

Senior Producer and Communication major Amanda Brasgalla ’15 said she is excited about the acknowledgements, especially given the high level of competition.

“We beat out a lot of big broadcasting schools,” Brasgalla said. “Every award we receive shows a huge appreciation of our work, and we are very grateful.”

Waste Not was made entirely by MediaLab students over the course of one year. Brasgalla and Taylor Lunka ‘15, a Communication major who also served as a senior producer, began research in Fall 2013, then subsequently traveled across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom with chief videographer Olivia Ash to produce the film. Communication major Evan Heringer ’16, and Art & Graphic Design major Taylor Cox ’15, helped complete the final project with their editing and graphic design skills.

“We put our hearts and souls into this film,” Lunka said, “and it’s nice to be recognized with these awards.”

The BEA Award will be formally presented to MediaLab in April at the BEA annual convention in Las Vegas. Presentation of the Rising Star Award also will take place in April at the Canada International Film Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia. The grand prize winner for NBS, a competition held every year to honor the best student produced films by universities across the U.S., will be announced in late March in Atlanta, site of the organization’s 2015 annual convention.

Waste Not first publicly premiered at the Broadway Center for Performing Arts Theatre in downtown Tacoma on Nov. 8, 2014. Since then, the filmmakers have received numerous requests to screen the film throughout the Puget Sound Region, as well as in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and elsewhere.