UTEP Documentary Wins at Film Festival

ARCHIVED PRESS RELEASE FROM UTEP NEWS

Contact: Carolyn Mitchell
Senior Lecturer, UTEP Communication Department
915/747-6292

Contact: Erica Martinez or Donna Dennis
University Communications
915/747-5526

Aug. 14, 2003

UTEP Documentary Wins at Film Festival

Cotton Productions, a student/faculty organization in the Department of Communication, won first place for its documentary, “And the Wheels Turned…The 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship,” at the 2003 Chamizal Independent Film Festival, Documentary Competition.

Seven entries in the competition came from both Mexico and the U.S.
UTEP’s 44-minute documentary is told by the team’s players, who were interviewed and photographed at last year’s team reunion.

Former UTEP Basketball Coach Don Haskins started five black players in the March 19, 1966, game against Kentucky – the first time blacks started in a college game lineup. Third-ranked Texas Western College stunned top-rated Kentucky, 72-65, in the title game.

The film festival was Aug. 2-9 at the Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso and at the Pronaf Cinemas movie theaters in Juárez. The festival is co-sponsored by the university and includes seminars, film screenings, awards and seminars by renowned U.S. and Mexican directors and actors.

This year’s festival included English and Spanish short screenplay competitions.

For more information, visit www.chamizalfilmfestival.org