UT Graduate Wins Nikon Festival Short-Film Contest

Two fast-food mascots who flirt, fight, and fall in love helped University of Texas alumnus Marko Slavnic win the Judges' Award in the Nikon Festival.

Slavnic, a 2006 UT graduate, won for "Chicken vs. Penguin", a two-minute video of battling costumed birds. The film, which Slavnic said drew from his own experiences as a shy teenager, was shot over two days on South Congress. (See if you can spot the Allens Boots sign and the facade of New Bohemia.)

"Chicken vs. Penguin" was one of four of Slavnic's submissions to the Nikon Festival, which asked filmmakers to upload 140-second videos with the theme "A Day through Your Lens." Another one of Slavnic's entries, "Where Were You in '92?" was among the 50 finalists selected from more than 1,200 entries.

Slavnic said he planned to take his $100,000 prize and invest it in his next project, a feature-length film.

Another Texan, Joshua Friedberg of San Antonio, won $25,000 and the Audience Award. His video, "New York State of Mind" was voted the top fan favorite and got a boost from online promotion from the skateboarding community, including Bam Margera and Tony Hawk.