Department of Communication Media Journalism and Film Archives - Page 2 of 8

Emma Habert’s “The Will of the Mare” wins NATAS College EMMY® award

April 22, 2026 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Missouri State University’s Emma Habert has won a college EMMY® award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS)-Mid-America chapter.

Movie poster of The Will of the Mare depicting a woman and a horse — Movie poster for “The Will of the Mare.”

Her film, “The Will of the Mare,” won the Student Production Award for best Fiction – Short Form.

In addition to Habert’s win, nine other Missouri State students received honorable mentions for their work.

“We’re so proud of Emma and our honorable mentions this year,” said Dr. Deborah Larson, head of the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film (CMJF).

“To win a crystal pillar ‘Student Production Award’ from NATAS is to be recognized for extremely high standards by industry and academic alike,” Larson added.

“The Will of the Mare” will be shown during the CMJF Showcase on May 5 at the Moxie Cinema in Springfield, Missouri. The event starts at 7 p.m.

Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film dominates 2026 BEA festival scriptwriting awards

February 26, 2026 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Missouri State University’s Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film (CMJF) received several top honors from the 2026 Broadcasting Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts awards.

Winners were selected from a pool of 2,250 entries, representing over 300 colleges and universities, according to a Feb. 17 BEA press release. Categories included audio, documentary, film and video, interactive multimedia, news, scriptwriting and sports.

Faculty member Nathan Patton wins second year in a row

CMJF Assistant Professor Nathan Patton won Best of Festival and Best of Competition for his original television series pilot, “All These Lonesome Graveyards.”

“I’m sincerely honored to have one of my screenplays named Best of Competition and Best of Festival for the second year in a row,” Patton said. “I deeply appreciate the BEA for the recognition and more broadly for being a place that media faculty and, even more importantly, students can share their work.”

In 2025, Patton’s “L.O.T.U.S.” won BEA’s Best of Festival for original television series pilot, while “Orientation” won Best of Competition for feature narrative.

Student screenwriter Cooper Johnson nabs top award

Cooper Johnson’s “Bandit” won “Best of Festival” in the student scripting competition. “Bandit” also placed first in the original television pilot series category. Missouri State went on to sweep the top awards in that same category. Arden Dickson placed second for “Go Figure,” and Evalee Lowrey placed third for “Freaks.”

According to its press release, BEA awarded 19 faculty and student works for its “Best of Festival” Award honor. Both Patton and Johnson are among that elite group, and they will be honored at BEA’s 24th annual ceremony in Las Vegas on April 19. They will have their works screened during the event and will receive a cash award of $1,000 from the Diana King Memorial Endowment.

Habert and Upp place in multiple categories

Meanwhile, Emma Habert placed in two different categories. “This is Gonna Tickle” won third place in scriptwriting, and “The Will of the Mare” earned an Award of Excellence in the film and video category.

In addition, Tristan Upp earned honors in three different categories. Upp placed third individually in the narrative feature category for “Over Our Heads.” Along with Kim DeBold, Upp tied for second place for sound engineering and production with “Dawg Pound.” Finally, in collaboration with Caelan Baker, Brooks Beattie and Matthew Mulac, Upp garnered an award of excellence in multimedia sound design for “The Dog Salesman.”

CMJF continues winning legacy

CMJF department head Dr. Deborah Larson praised the group for their achievements, noting that Missouri State will maintain its position as the most highly awarded screenwriting program in the country for the sixth year in a row.

“Congratulations on your accomplishments and the quality of work that you do,” she said. “Winning 12 screenwriting awards and four production awards makes a statement that maintains a visibility nationwide of excellence in our programs. CMJF and MO State are proud of you.”

Missouri State alumni Carter Breaux and Taylor Hoos produce feature-length film

January 29, 2026 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Missouri State University alumni Carter Breaux and Taylor Hoos will premiere their new feature-length film, “Kings,” at the Alamo Drafthouse in Springfield, Missouri, Feb. 6-8.

Breaux and Hoos co-produced “Kings.” They both graduated from Missouri State’s Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film in 2019, earning degrees in media and film production. Breaux also earned a certificate in screenwriting.

In addition to his co-producer role, Breaux is the film’s director, editor and screenwriter. Hoos is the film’s director of photography and colorist as well as co-producer. The film stars Jachin Like as Mark and Ethan O’Neal as Dylan.

“Alamo Drafthouse has been a phenomenal partner in getting this film shown,” Breaux said. “They’ve gone out of their way to add new theaters, promote the film and connect us with other theaters that may also want to show ‘Kings.’”

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Chess, poker and a box of money

Four young men sitting on set of film — On the set of “Kings.” L-R: Taylor Hoos, Jachin Like, Carter Breaux and Ethan O’Neal. Photo credit: Karson Knudsen.

According to Breaux, the story follows a meticulous chess champion and a scheming poker hustler who find themselves in a battle of wits after discovering a box of money in a dumpster.

“I first explored the idea for this story in 2018, putting pen to paper in early 2023,” Breaux said. “After sharing the script at a local table read event, we decided we wanted to move forward.”

“Carter approached me in early 2024,” Hoos remembered. “He mentioned he had a script he wanted to make. I read [it] and, like I always do with Carter’s writing, was like ‘this is awesome, yes I want to be a part of it.’”

With Hoos on board as director of photography, he and Breaux began outlining scenes, color palettes and grades. They also discussed how they wanted to tell the story.

“Carter is a very involved director,” Hoos said. “He sees everything in his mind already and has specific shots he wants. It’s just up to me to make that into reality.”

RCASH departments host screening of “Black Box Diaries” documentary

December 10, 2025 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Academic departments within the Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) recently teamed together to co-host a screening of Shiori Itō’s 2024 documentary “Black Box Diaries.”

The screening, coordinated by Assistant Professor of East Asian History Dr. Linshan Jiang, was held Nov. 14 at the Moxie Cinema in Springfield, Missouri.

“Shiori Itō is such an iconic figure of the Japanese #MeToo movement and holds significance for me personally,” she said.

Missouri State’s Department of History; Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film; Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions; and Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology joined the Moxie Cinema to sponsor the event.

Jiang estimated 50-60 people attended the screening.

Missouri State Debate Team logs solid wins at Oklahoma and Wake Forest

December 9, 2025 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Evan Siever and Nico Neal, two Missouri State University Debate Bears, reached the quarterfinals at the University of Oklahoma Debate Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma, Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

The pair entered the tournament as the top seed with a 6-0 record.

“Oklahoma is the largest tournament on our regional schedule this fall, and this is our best showing so far,” said Dr. Eric Morris, director of forensics in the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film.

Six other Debate Bears also competed in the Oklahoma tournament. They were Avery Bates, Levi DeAngelis, James Granger, Quentin Cooper, Shelby Hahn and Asher Neal. Undergraduate observers Gabe Diaz and Connor Burns also attended and helped the teams prepare for the competition. Morris, graduate assistant Aaraf Azad, Matthew Wilkinson and Peyton Reeves also accompanied the students.

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