University of Guam Associate Professor of Mass Media Dr. Raymond Anderson was recently recognized by the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) with an Award of Excellence for his feature-length film script.

The Centenarian’s Birthday Party was one of two faculty submitted scripts chosen by the BEA for its Festival of Media Arts competition. The honor is second only to the “Best in Competition” award.

“I kind of had been wanting to do this one for quite a while because I felt so passionate about it,” Anderson said. “I’ve heard people say it’s a muse. If you don’t do it, it’ll go somewhere else. I had to write this. It wouldn’t let me go.”

The plot centers around a dysfunctional Jamaican family coming to terms with their ghosts when an alienated homosexual and adulterous father/son decides to attend his father’s 100th birthday party in Kingston, Jamaica.

“As I wrote it, the characters became real enough to surprise me with the things they did,” said Anderson, who is originally from Jamaica. “As I shaped them, they began to do things I didn’t expect.”

Anderson hopes to submit his script to a few other competitions. Eventually, he hopes the script can one day become a feature length film.

With a burgeoning filmmaking industry in Guam, Anderson sees the importance of incorporating more script writing into the Communication department’s curriculum.

“My goal is to make that part of our major on the Mass Media side,” he said. “We also want to work with the English department, making it a regular thing and focusing on developing short films.”

For more on the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts, visit http://www.beafestival.org.