The Rusty Casselton Award is given to a student moviemaker for an individual work that embodies and exhibits the high quality and attention to detail that was prized and appreciated by educator Harold “Rusty” Casselton.

At the time of his death on December 30, 2007, Rusty was the chair of the film studies department at Minnesota State University Moorhead and one of the region’s most respected film restoration authorities and motion picture collectors.

Rusty was also known around the world for his efforts in film preservation. Rusty collaborated with his mentor Ted M. Larson for many years, and their efforts resulted in a variety of wonderful opportunities for movie fans, who regularly attended popular events like Silent Movie Night at the Fargo Theatre and the Summer Cinema series on the campus of MSUM.

Rusty participated in the Fargo Film Festival from the time of its inception, providing students to help staff the various second venue locations. A dedicated educator, Rusty taught film and media courses in the Communication Studies and Theatre Art department at Concordia College for 22 years before accepting a position at MSUM in 2001.

He is greatly missed by the Fargo Film Festival, his students, his extended family, his friends, his colleagues, his wife Cindy and daughters Hannah and Amanda.

Recipients of the Rusty Casselton Award:

2024: Mum’s Spaghetti (Lisa Kenney)
2023: Night of the Living Dread (Ida Melum)
2022: Fourth of July (Major Dorfman)
2021: My Other Suit Is Human (Andrew Paul Montague)
2020: Florence (Emanuele Daga)

2019: Mickey’s Pets (Ashley S. Brandon)
2018: Cradle (Devon Manney)
2017: Westall (Jade Reeder)
2016: Family Unit (Zach Marion)
2015: The Window Between Worlds (Whitney Allen)
2014: Girl Who Lived in a Tree (Simone LeClaire)
2013: Tsuyako (Mitsuyo Miyazaki)
2012: Gynoid (Shane Mackinnon)
2011: A Lutefisk Western (Eric Carlson)
2010: Symptoms (Amber Johnson)

2009: Harvest Moon (Micah Ranum)