Featured Falcons: Jude Copeland

November 4, 2026

When Jude Copeland walked into their first Broadcast Education Association (BEA) meeting as a freshman, they had never touched a camera. Now a junior, they have won Best Alabama Short Screenplay out of over 200 submissions at Sidewrite, a screenwriting competition for Alabama filmmakers and a division of Birmingham’s annual Sidewalk Film Festival.

The University of Montevallo appealed to them because it was close enough to home to be comfortable but far enough to feel independent.

“It’s cliché, but it really did have that welcoming vibe,” they said. “The professors actually care and are invested in your experience and your work here.”

In high school, Copeland became interested in directing. However, few colleges in Alabama offer a program for it. A friend convinced them Montevallo’s Mass Communication Program covers much of what a film program would be like.

Which led them to Montevallo’s BEA chapter.

“It’s really a space for all students who are passionate,” they said. “We’re just interested in media production, whether that’s film, news, print, social media, all of it. It’s just for people to get together.”

At their first meeting, the group had to tell a story in just six shots, and they were placed with mostly established members.

“They were super welcoming,” they said. “I completely forgot I was ever scared in the first place.”

Now, the same student is an award-winning screenwriter. Their script, “Every Wrong Step,” is a short horror film about a couple who take a wrong turn on a hike, a path that becomes a nightmare and exposes the cracks in their relationship.

As part of the award, actors performed a live reading of the script. Some performances differed from how Copeland imagined the characters but found the change to be enjoyable. ‘It changed how I saw the story in a very positive way,” he said.

A Q&A panel followed, and Copeland said it was a surreal experience.

“It was kind of bizarre to realize that anyone wanted to listen to what I had to say about it,” they said.

Next, Copeland hopes to produce “Every Wrong Step,” possibly through a Kickstarter campaign, with filmmakers they have met at Montevallo. They are currently looking for entry-level work, such as production assistant jobs. In their free time, script writing feature films is where they find the most creativity.

To Copeland, Montevallo has been a place of finding themself. “Being here, it feels like I’ve discovered my actual personality more, and how to really be myself around other people,” they said.

Students who want to find their own place in media can join BEA, which meets every Tuesday from 5 to 6 p.m. in Room 116 of Strong Hall. All majors and experience levels are welcome.