Original Short Films by Central Penn College Grad Dylan Bowman
As the old show business mantra goes, “And now for something completely different.”
While Central Penn College (CPC)’s Film Series typically features major motion pictures, preceded by critical analysis by local literary and historical experts, this summer’s free movie showing on Friday, July 29 gives a starring role to local talent against a backdrop of hometown pride.
Recent Central Penn College graduate Dylan Bowman will screen two of his own short films, including “At War with Myself” and the newly released “Vintage.” He will also discuss the most pivotal scenes in the films, along with his experiences with their production and distribution.
Bowman, the owner of Fellowship Studios in Halifax. is a multi-talented communicator who won a statewide Keystone Media Award in 2022 for his photograph of a jubilant Central Penn baseball team welcoming their teammate at home plate after he hit a grand slam.
“Our upcoming CPC Film Series is arguably one of the most unique we’ve ever done,” said Paul Miller, the college’s Program Director for the Communications Department and Knightly News Media Club Co-Founder. “To get to feature an alumni member in Dylan who has an extraordinary vision in the film landscape is something that the Central Penn community should be lined up to embrace. He is an embodiment of the Knight Life, finding a passion and dedicating his time and creative energy to sharing his art with the world.
The screening begins at 7 p.m. on July 29 in the college’s Capital Blue Cross Theater, with Bowman’s presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. The community is warmly invited to attend.
Bowman described “At War with Myself” as a “soft horror film” written and directed by his friend, Dominic Mangle, who also plays several roles in the film. The plot follows a man who struggles with multiple personality disorder and the friends who try to help him through his darkest moments.
He said, “Mangle added in a wonderfully relevant moral message to spice up the quality of that viewing experience and hit the nail right on the head.”
“Vintage” is Bowman’s newest film, and one he personally directed, produced and wrote. It debuted at the TVP Colonnade Theater in Millersburg, Dauphin County, in April.
“’Vintage’ itself is a noir-thriller and somewhat of a mystery about a writer who is an ordinary, albeit strange man in a simple time…but all is not as it appears,” he said.
“This is a project that I have wanted to do for a long time,” Bowman added, “and nearly every aspect of this film draws on a personal perspective, passion and understanding of life and the times we live in. As an old soul myself, much of the inspiration for this film came from the people and experiences in my own life, and as of now I would consider ‘Vintage’ my masterpiece because of all the personality and heart that was put into it across the board from the cast and crew.”
The films are part of the college’s Quarterly Film Series, and are sponsored by the Knightly News Media Club, the college’s student news organization, which Bowman led during his time at CPC.
