BYU professor's film honored at Mendocino fest

PROVO — A film by a Brigham Young University professor that was inspired by personal tribulation won awards at the Mendocino Film Festival.

Tom Russell, a media arts professor, won runner-up in the feature film category for "Mr. Dungbeetle," which he wrote and directed as a tribute to his wife, Angie, who died of cancer before the film was finished.

"She taught me a great deal about grace and selflessness in the face of tremendous difficulty," Russell said about his deceased wife.

Her death made the film much more autobiographical than originally intended, Russell said. The comedy about five schizophrenics who escape from a mental institution also includes a story of real-life drama.

In the film, a doctor, who has lost his wife to cancer, is sent to get the patients to return to the facility. Throughout the course of the plot, Russell says, the doctor is able to to acknowledge that he needs healing of his own.

Russell said he considered the runner-up prize a big compliment.

Though he doesn't feel the movie was an example of remarkable cinema, Russell said he felt that the film connected with audience members in a meaningful way.

After months of pre-production, the movie was shot in only 20 days, with the help of mostly theater and media arts students from BYU.

Students praise him for his dedication.

"Tom (Russell) is passionate about his work, his family, his life, and he has a love for everyone that he is around," said Tom Morrill, a recent graduate BYU and an assistant director for "Mr. Dungbeetle."

Teaching students about media arts and film production is very rewarding, said Russell.

"They are young and they are just beginning to learn about this field. I just have to let them figure out the process on their own," Russell said. "I have to sit back and let it happen. But then they'll do something that surprises you, and that is just delightful. When they surprise you it brings so much more satisfaction than your own lame ideas."

Asked about his life in Provo, Russell said being at BYU has been one of the greatest blessings in his life. He loves the students and the faculty, and they have been very encouraging and supportive both professionally and personally, said Russell.

After the Mendocino win in May, Russell decided to enter "Mr. Dungbeetle" in several other film festivals throughout this summer.

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