After months of rejection from various film festivals, co-director of “NECRO 101” Sam Friedman (Communication ‘24) said he was planning to just post the film on YouTube. However, that changed when he received an email from the Santa Monica International Film Festival.
More than a year after production wrapped, “NECRO 101” became an official selection at the 2025 Santa Monica International Film Festival on March 3.
The feature film is a 2024 production by the Northwestern student-run film organization Applause for a Cause, a philanthropic student film group in which students produce a different film each year and donate the proceeds to a chosen beneficiary.
“It was always a bucket list project of mine to direct a feature film,” Friedman said.
“NECRO 101” is a dark comedy that follows a college student who enrolls in a necromancy class during which she becomes involved in a mafia family war.
The lengthy process of bringing “NECRO 101” to life included selecting and budgeting the film over the summer of 2023, filming most weekends of winter of 2024 and post-production refinement during the spring of 2024.
“What me and Sam did was a bit of a tricky situation,” Co-Director Brady Meldorf (Communication ‘24) said. “Trying to make a feature film is not something you do in college. It’s just not generally what you do.”
The film premiered at AMC Evanston 12 on May 31, 2024 to a sold-out crowd, Meldorf said. At the premiere, the cast and crew walked a makeshift red carpet and saw their work on the big screen with their loved ones, according to Communication junior and Co-Producer Ananya Paul.
Paul said she shared the sense of accomplishment felt by the entire team.
“I know we had more than 90 students working on this film,” Paul said. “It’s so satisfying that the hard work is paying off.”
Regarding festival submissions, Paul explained that the “NECRO 101” team “wanted an L.A. audience,” so they submitted their film to the Santa Monica International Film Festival.
The crew also submitted their film to festivals based in Chicago and New York, Friedman said.
Beyond its festival debut, the film is also competing for the Audience Choice Award at the festival, Paul said. The award is determined by the amount of streaming views on XOLO.TV, a platform on which the film received a streaming window from March 1 to March 15 as part of their selection in the festival.
However, for the team, the goal is not just winning, but also ensuring that everyone involved can share the finished project with loved ones through the streaming platform.
“I hope that everyone who worked in the film and worked really hard on it gets the chance to send this link to their family and their friends and everyone can see what they did,” Friedman said.
The film’s achievement was a special moment for actor Veronica Szafoni (Communication ‘24). She played Toni, an “energetic hot head” character, and added that she felt proud of everyone involved in “NECRO 101.”
Communication junior and actor Emma Nelsen, who played Gianna, a stoic and intimidating character, echoed Szafoni’s sentiment.
“I feel lucky that I’ve chosen to be a part of it,” Nelsen said. “I hope I’m able to take what I learned into more film ventures in the future.”
Applause for a Cause is currently producing its next feature film, “Hello, Goodbye!”
Meldorf said that he is excited by the future of NU student-led films.
“Knowing the type of people that are in the program right now,” Meldorf said. “I’m really excited to see what comes out of NU in the next few years.”
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