MSU Film Project Earns Festival Honors

Morehead State University students are discovering how their classroom skills apply to real-world success through a new media project led by Professor of Mass Communication Jeffrey Hill.

His documentary-style piece on Assistant Professor of Ceramics Quinn Maher, “Clack Mountain Clay,” was recently named a monthly winner at the WOLF Media Festival, making it an official nominee for the festival’s annual awards in April 2026.

The project is also an official selection at the Seedlings Film Festival in Denver and will air on KET’s “Kentucky Life” in spring 2026.

Hill said the recognition highlights the kind of real-world production work that students in MSU’s mass communication and media programs regularly engage with. Students are often involved in similar productions, gaining experience with field equipment, production planning, interviewing, visual storytelling, and documentary techniques that appear in nationally recognized work.

“It is wonderful news to have the project chosen to air at a festival and on KET,” Hill said.

“Clack Mountain Clay” follows Maher as he works with clay sourced from Clack Mountain in Rowan County, demonstrating the connection between local landscapes and creative practice.

The project also benefited from the talents of MSU alumni, with Instructor of Communication Chris Merritt (Class of 2004, 2009) assisting with camerawork.

For more information, contact Hill at j.hill@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-9383.

To learn more about the Department of Communication, Media, Art & Design, email cmad@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2766.