| films | scripts | info | news | contacts | galleries | credits |
| | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
June 8, 2003
TWO COLUMBIA FILMS WIN STUDENT ACADEMY AWARDS
Narrative Category:
* "Jesus Henry Christ," Dennis Lee, Columbia University, New York SILVER
* "La Milpa (The Cornfield)," Patricia Riggen, Columbia University, New York GOLD
-------------------------------------------------------
May 3, 2003
SOA Students Take $110,000 in Awards at 16th Annual Film Festival
As part of an assignment in his Writing 1 class four years ago Dennis Lee created a four-page screenplay about how the meek, and questioning, shall inherit the earth. As emerging filmmakers on a small budget, he and classmate Joe Turner Lin planned to shoot it for fun and put their classroom skills into practice.
Last year at the Columbia University Film Festival Lin became the first recipient of a new award by HBO Films to promote the development of minority producers -- the HBO Films Young Producers Development Award -- for the screenplay "Jesus Henry Christ." It tells the story of a free-thinking 10 year-old named Henry who attends a Catholic school, where he is punished for expressing his beliefs. Through his suffering, Henry saves his classmates from the tyrannical new headmaster.
With the award money, the pair created a film that is a finalist for a Student Academy Award and received the Guoxi Fu Best Film Award at the 2003 Columbia festival, where Lin received the Film Division Best Producer Award. The film also received a National Board of Review of Motion Picture Award at the festival and was named Best Student Short at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen.
"It is nice to win these awards," says Lin. "Neither of us has ever experienced something so high-profile -- it's so surreal. This film was more rewarding than any other I've worked on. I feel a sense of ownership from the creative collaboration that Dennis allowed me."
"It was a collaborative effort the whole way through," adds writer/director Lee. "Joe was instrumental in creating the story as well as the whole production process." When asked how it feels to have the film named best of the festival, he humbly says, "I am completely honored. There were a lot of really great films in this year's festival -- those in Faculty Selects and others. Any of them easily could have been named best of the festival."
With 40 films and digital videos to chose from, deciding the winners of the more than $110,000 in awards was no easy task.
"This is my seventh Columbia University Film Festival, and the most successful one I've seen," says Dan Kleinman, chair of the SOA film division. "We had more good films than ever before, continuing a long-standing trend." This year's festival featured several comedies. Among them is "El Chancecito" (A Little Chance) by Efterpi Charalambidis, winner of the New Line Cinema Award for Best Director, the Lifetime Student Filmmaker Award and the Audience Choice Award. The film "Jesus Henry Christ" is a Student Academy Award finalist.
Shot in her native Venezuela, the film is set in a hair salon where everyone has aspirations -- the shampoo girl wants to be a stylist; the manicurist wants to win the lottery, and a customer wants to become Miss Venezuela.
"I wanted to shoot a story that would represent a microcosm of my country as I perceive it," says Charalambidis. There are two powerful institutions in Venezuela: lottery games and beauty contests. And inside of those microcosms, people bet on their own aspirations through lottery or hard work, through courage or patience. All of this is set against the actual context of Venezuela, where the latest political turmoil has brought economic crisis, demonstrations and uncertainty."
An actress, director and producer, Charalambidis is also involved with the Greek Cultural Center in Queens (her parents are from Greece) as program coordinator and director of plays. Later this year she will direct a play there, while also sending out the film for consideration in other festivals.
In another comedy, "Gardening Tips for Housewives," Jessica Weigmann pushes the suburban ennui trend that has been seen in films like Sam Mendes' "American Beauty" and Todd Haynes' "Safe" and in so doing received the New Line Cinema Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking.
The film was inspired by a newspaper article in which a tourist, horrified that heartless New Yorkers would walk past homeless people without helping, said this would never happen in the suburbs. Weigmann took this idea to the next level, depicting a homeless man settling into a suburban backyard, and endangering the tranquility of American domesticity.
About the award Weigmann says, "I am honored to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award from New Line. I really respect the films they produce and was thrilled that they singled out my film as one they enjoyed."
Like many other emerging filmmakers, Weigmann plans to use the money to print the film so she can submit it for consideration at other festivals.
While film screenings comprise the majority of the festival, screenplay readings were the focus on Friday, May 9, with students reading excerpts from their feature-length scripts. Deborah Chow won the Comedy Central Award for Best Comedy Screenplay for "Daypass." Festival director Gary Graham won the Ezra Litwak Award for Distinction in Screenwriting for "godless," and Nina Tsai's received the Best Teleplay award for a script for the television show "Scrubs" entitled "My Jet Airliner."
Other leading festival awards include: - IMAX Outstanding Achievement Award and Tribeca Entertainment Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting Award: Leon Siminiani, "Archipelago" - Arthur Krim Memorial Award: Rachel Vine - Twentieth Century Fox/Farrelly Brothers Outstanding Achievement in Comedy Award: Marianne DeMarco, "Goose Down" - Windows Media Outstanding Achievement in Technology Award: Joseph Raso, "Together Alone"
The 16th Annual Columbia University Film Festival will continue in Los Angeles on June 2nd and 3rd.
-------------------------------------------------------
May 3, 2003
Steven Meyers' film "Pilgrims" is accepted into Nantucket Film Festival
Steven Meyers' film "Pilgrims" has been accepted to the Nantucket Film Festival, which will run from June 19th-22nd. "Pilgrims" recently premiered at the Columbia University Film Festival, where it won awards for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking, Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting, Best Cinematography, and an Audience Choice Award.
-------------------------------------------------------
April 30, 2003
Nigerian short "Nkan Mii" by Seke Somolu awarded Faculty Honors and selected for 2003 Commonwealth Film Festival in Manchester, England
Written, directed and produced by Columbia Film Division MFA candidate, Seke Somolu, "Nkan Mii" ("Something Else") takes a microscopic look at middle-class life in Nigeria. Papa Segun, played by veteran of the Nigerian screen and stage, Kunle Bamtefa, finds himself in financial distress; left with few options, he must turn to his family for help. Shot in Lagos, Nigeria, the film brought together many veterans of the diverse Nigerian film and video scene --recently christened "Nollywood" by the New York Times-- to work on a project that hopes to build upon the country's rich artistic traditions and create links to the future and the world beyond. The Commonwealth Film Festival will take place in Manchester, England June 6th - 15th 2003. The 10-day showcase will feature around 200 new features, shorts and documentaries from many of the 72 nations of the Commonwealth.
"Nkan Mii" / "Something Else" written, directed and produced by Seke Somolu screened in Program B, Monday, April 28, at 8:15PM. At this screening, "Nkan Mii," was awarded FACULTY HONORS by the Columbia University Film Division faculty.
"Nkan Mii" will be available on Columbia University School of the Art Film Division FACULTY HONORS & SELECTS 2003 DVD in June, 2003. For more information about obtaining a copy of this DVD call 212-854-1564. Contact information for filmmaker Seke Somolu: fbs8@columbia.edu, or 212-531-3474
-------------------------------------------------------
April 26, 2003
Two Columbia MFA Thesis Films are Finalists in the HBO Short Film Competition at the 7th American Black Film Festival
"A-ALIKE" written and directed by Randall Dottin and "WELCOME TO LIFE" written and directed by Jowan Carbin are two of the five finalists in the HBO Short Film Competition at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). Created in 1997, the five day retreat and international film market is now the leading Black film showcase in the country. The 7th. Annual American Black Film Festival presented by AOL Time Warner and will take place June 18-22, 2003 in South Beach, Florida.
"A-ALIKE" is the story of two brothers from opposite sides of the social spectrum who collide when corporate head, Malik, picks up his brother, Hassan, on the day of his release from prison. As they struggle to find out who has lead the more honest life, and who is responsible for their enmity, they discover their true differences, but also how truly alike they are
"A-ALIKE" will screen in Program H: Thursday, May 1st - 8:15PM.
In "WELCOME TO LIFE," an 11-year-old loner gets an introduction to real life. Alone in his 6th grade classroom with nobody to talk to, Roger longs to be outside playing with his fellow classmates. When his only friend, Dale, arrives late to lunch, Roger and he run off to their secret hiding place. They make a pact to be friends forever, but the school bully interrupts them. What was a private moment between friends turns into a nightmare for Roger, resulting in violence and a life-changing move. Welcome to Life.
**"WELCOME TO LIFE" screened in Program C: Tuesday, April 29th - 5:15PM. At this screening, "WELCOME TO LIFE" was awarded FACULTY HONORS by the Columbia University School of the Arts Film Division faculty.
**"WELCOME TO LIFE" has also been selected as a regional finalists for a 2003 Student Academy Award.
-------------------------------------------------------
April 22, 2003
As reported by Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles for screendaily.com
Brazil's Moraes gets short filmmaker award in Hollywood
Gustavo Moraes will receive this year¹s Fuji Filmmaker of the Year Award at the opening night gala of the 2003 Short Shorts Film Festival in Hollywood on Apr 29. The festival runs from Apr 29-May 1.
"Gustavo is such a talented film-maker and we are so thrilled to be honoring him this year," festival director Douglas Williams said in a statement. "With his daring and original film-making he embodies the best that short film-making can be."
In addition to the award, the festival will feature Moraes' short film Baseado Em Estorias Reais (Based On True Stories), which traces Brazil's period of dictatorship from 1964-85.
Moraes has worked on a number of shorts and commercials in the US and Brazil and is a foreign correspondent for the Brazilian publication Revista de Cinema.
He won the 1st Petrobras Cinema-2001 development award for Baseado Em Estorias Reais and more recently collected the HBO Outstanding Award in Film Producing for his work on the short film Abbie Down East.
The film-maker is currently developing his first feature screenplay, Cup of Dreams, in Amsterdam at the Maurits Binger Film Institute.
"The film strikes a chord with young audiences who never knew of the dictatorship period first-hand nor learned about it second-hand," Moraes said in a statement. "Although some of the Brazilian press has accused the film of being historically inaccurate, overall both the general public viewers who have attended the commercial screenings of the film as well as film festival juries in Brazil have understood and embraced the attempt that the film makes to address the open wounds left by this period in Brazil's history."
-------------------------------------------------------
April 21, 2003
Columbia University School of the Arts Presents 16th Annual Film Festival, April 28 - May 9, in New York City
Features 40 New Films by Columbia University Students, Filmed in 9 Countries; More than $110,000 in Awards Will Be Presented
The Film Division of Columbia University's School of the Arts, one of the nation’s leading academic training programs for filmmaking, will present a festival of screenings and screenplay readings of new student work, April 28 – May 9, in New York City and June 2 - 3 in Los Angeles. More than $110,000 in awards will be presented to Columbia students throughout the Festival.
Of the 40 student films and digital videos included in the Columbia University Film Festival, eight were filmed outside the United States, in countries ranging from Italy and Hong Kong to Venezuela and Nigeria. Closer to home, several films deal with New York City community issues, including gentrification in Brooklyn (Fancy Girl) and the plight of a Mexican immigrant couple trying to survive in Queens (
“The 16th annual Columbia University Film Festival offers a glimpse of the diverse work of talented, young filmmakers who are on the brink of major careers,” says Bruce W. Ferguson, dean of the School of the Arts. “More than half of the films focus on persons of color, putting the Festival on the cutting edge of independent and breakover films. These are not the filmmakers of tomorrow. These are the filmmakers of today.”
The Columbia University Film Festival begins with screenings at Loews 34th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues), Monday, April 28 – Thursday, May 1, at 5:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. daily. Eight different film programs will be offered throughout the week. On Monday, May 5, the Faculty Selects program, featuring films selected by the Film Division faculty as the best of the 2003 Festival, will screen at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
On Friday, May 9, Faculty Selects Screenplay Readings will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in the McGraw-Hill Auditorium, 1221 Avenue of the Americas at 49th Street. Preceding the readings, at 7:00 p.m., alumni Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the team that created American Splendor, the 2003 Grand Prize winner at Sundance, will receive the Andrew Sarris Award. The Festival continues in Los Angeles, June 2 - 3.
The Columbia University Film Festival has earned a reputation as a place to spot emerging talent. Columbia student screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan ’02 and faculty member Mira Nair made Monsoon Wedding while Dhawan was still a student. The film went on to win the Golden Lion at the 2001 Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA award in 2002.
Three of the films to be screened during the Festival are regional finalists in the 2003 Student Academy Award competition:
Complete information about the Festival, schedules, films and filmmakers are available at www.cufilmfest.com. For more information, the public may call 212-854-1547. Admission to each program is $10 and tickets for the screenings may be purchased at the Loews 34th Street box office or via www.fandango.com. Tickets for the May 9 screenplay readings may be reserved by calling 212-854-1547.
The festival is sponsored by @radical.media, The Bridges/Larson Foundation, Comedy Central, Eastman Kodak, Guoxi Fu, Hallmark Entertainment, HBO Films, IMAX Corporation, Kim’s Video, Lifetime Entertainment Services, Eleanor and Eugene Litwak and Family, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Microsoft Corp., National Board of Review, New Line Cinema, Pacific Design Center, Screen Actors Guild/SAG Indie, Tribeca Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox.
Editor’s Note:
Press tickets for screenings and screenplay readings are available by calling
-------------------------------------------------------
Recent Accomplishments of Columbia University School of the Arts Film Division Alumni Alumni of the Film Division in Columbia University’s School of the Arts are increasingly making their mark in the entertainment industry and independent film world. Recent accomplishments include:
-------------------------------------------------------
April 9, 2003
Columbia Film Division sends filmmaker to Cannes with short that investigates documentary and the reality of making films in Palestine.
Columbia University School of the Arts MFA Film Division student Annemarie Jacir's 2003 short film, "like twenty impossibles," has been selected for the Cannes Film Festival's highly competitive and prestigious Cinefondation Screening. Emerging filmmakers from films schools around the world submit films for a program limited to approximately 15 shorts.
"like twenty impossibles" is both a visual poem and a narrative, marking the emotional and the material aspects of being a Palestinian living under occupation. Beginning with an understated nod to the road-film genre, conversations between passengers in a shared taxi meander from politics to love as landscapes of barren rocky hills and crowded military checkpoints pass outside the windows. But when the driver decides to avert a closed checkpoint by taking an unused side road, the road-film unravels, and the passengers are slowly taken apart by the mundane brutalities of the Israeli occupation.
Filmmaker Annemarie Jacir divides her work and her time between New York City and Palestine. She grew up in Saudi Arabia, moving to the U.S when she was 16. She has written, directed, and produced a number of short films. She is a winner of the Kathyrn H. Parlan Screenwriting Award at Columbia University as well as a Zaki Gordon Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. She has taught courses at Barnard College, Columbia University, Bethlehem University and Birzeit University. Annemarie is currently working on several new projects which are in various stages of development.
"Like Twenty Impossibles" will screen in Program A: Monday, April 28th - 5:15 PM
----------------------------------------------------------
April 8, 2003
Columbia student wins College Comedy Short Film Competition at HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
"Jesus Henry Christ," a short film by Dennis Lee won the College Comedy Short Film Competition at HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen this past week. The award was part of the Film Discovery program at the festival, sponsored by Variety.
"Jesus Henry Christ" will screen in Program H: Thursday, May 1st - 8:15 PM
-------------------------------------------------
April 3, 2003
We are delighted to announce the results of this year's Festival screenplay judging.
Ten minute excerpts of each Faculty Selects script will be read on May 9 at the Screenwriting Night of the Film Festival, to be held at McGraw-Hill. All Faculty Selects and Honors scripts will be submitted to NY and LA industry.
Faculty Selects
An Honest Face by Maggie Bruen
Daypass by Deborah Chow
The Gabriela Dilemma by Ricardo Hernandez Anzola
godless. by Gary Graham
Last Rites by Kerrilyn Simmons
The Thirteenth by Elizabeth Schacter
Faculty Honors
Alto by Mikki del Monico
Distant Stars by Jim Pellegrinelli
The Hour of Lead by Jeffrey Bolas
Indelible by Mikki del Monico
The Orange Blossom Trail by Richard David Boyce
The Quality of Mercy by Ada Chamberlain
Revival House by Karen Dillon
Superchica by Sarah Zoe Canner
Scrubs: "My Jet Airliner" by Nina Tsai