FSU Theatre Company and the Department of Performing & Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University will present their first Short Film Festival on Friday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. in Butler Theater on the FSU Campus.

Students in the theater program's play production class have been working to write, shoot and direct original short films for presentation at the festival.

Their work has been guided by FSU visiting professor Walter Allen Bennett Jr. and members of the FSU Theatre faculty.

Bennett, a writer, director, and producer of theater and film, has been working with students on their projects in an effort to help them translate theater skills to the worlds of film and television.

The festival is free, but donations are appreciated.

Walter Allen Bennett has written and/or produced and executive-produced more than 200 episodes of series television. His break into television came as a writer on the long-running, Emmy Award-winning "The Cosby Show."

From there, he became a writer/producer on "704 Hauser Street," created by Norman Lear. His career also includes working as a producer on the hit comedy "In the House," starring LL Cool J and Debbie Allen. He was the executive producer of "The Steve Harvey Show."

Bennett has written pilots for CBS, FOX and Nickelodeon networks and wrote HBO's first original programming for the Internet titled "The Deadwood Mysteries."

Most recently, he has collaborated with R&B artist Alicia Keys on a television pilot for the Nickelodeon Network.

On the film side, Bennett wrote and directed "Contradiction of the Heart," an independent feature starring Clifton Powell, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Vanessa Williams and Christopher B. Duncan, which marks his feature directional debut.

His script "Article One," was a finalist in the Sundance Writers Workshop as well as a semifinalist in the Chesterfield Screenwriting Competition.

Bennett holds a master's degree in fine arts in playwriting from Yale University's School of Drama, and one in acting from UCLA.

He has served on the faculty at St. John's University, New York University, and has lectured at the Yale School of Drama.

Currently, Bennett is a professor in the Graduate School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University, where he teaches directing and scene analysis.

Bennett is Fayetteville State University's first visiting professor in theater.

For more information regarding this event, contact Jeremy Fiebig, assistant professor of theater, at (910) 672-2574 or email jfiebig@uncfsu.edu.