columbia university film festival Archives

The Columbia University Film Festival is the annual premiere of thesis short films, feature screenplays and teleplays created by graduate MFA students from Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program. (Source: Columbia University Film Festival website)

Held May 2nd-8th at Lincoln Center (with events scheduled in Los Angeles June 17-20) and its 27th year, this festival is an opportunity for the public at large to catch a glimpse at (possibly) the next Kathryn Bigelow, James Mangold or Jennifer Lee (of the Academy Award-winning animated feature Frozen) who is also the recipient of this year’s Andrew Sarris Award.

One of the things that continues to stand out to me is the production value of the work presented. Whereas last year, I attended the closing ceremonies and saw only the closing night (awards events), this time I felt as if I was in the thick of it and could truly enjoy the festival experience.

Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, I was unable to attend the screenplay workshops and panel discussions.

Some of the highlights for me included the following (synopses and photos courtesy of The Film Society of Lincoln Center website):

Alex the Magnificent
Director: Robert Monk Davis, USA, 2014, DCP, 14m
Fed up with his life, Alex Martin gives up all his worldly possessions to hitchhike across the country.

ILC’s take: an irreverent and almost unbelievable story. So entertaining.

Smut
Director: Tom Sveen, Producers: John Wakayama Carey & Sarah Dorman, USA, 2014, DCP, 10m
On a class field trip to the landfill, two boys make a startling discovery that draws them toward adulthood.

ILC’s take: A nostalgic gem. Could easily see this as being a smaller episode of a larger narrative.

smut_web

Knives
Director: Aaron David DeFazio, Producer: Larissa Rhodes, USA, 2014, DCP, 16m
A curious shopping-cart collector investigates the suspicious owner of knife-sharpening truck after a string of brutal murders.

ILC’s take: Quirky without being irksome

The King’s Pawn
Director: Jonah Bleicher, Producer: Rob Cristiano, USA, 2014, DCP, 20m
A former chess prodigy challenges the world champion with the super computer he spent his life designing.

ILC’s take: had some really funny moments.

thekingspawn_web

The winners were announced in a ceremony of May 8th:

JURY SELECTS
A Mighty Nice Man
Devil’s Work
Scheherazade
Sina Forma
Subordinate
The Immaculate Reception
Tobacco Burn

JURY HONORS
Amateur Dictator
Fault Lines
Oasis
Party of Special Things To Do
Rattlefly
Roughstock
Scumbag
Smut
Solid Ground

STUDENT SELECTS
Alex The Magnificent
Amateur Dictator
American Gladiators
Body of Crime
Party of Special Things To Do
Rattlefly
Sina Forma
Smut
The Immaculate Reception
Tobacco Burn

Finally, check out the festival trailer here:

I love that as part of my life as a film blogger I can shed some love on film-related goings-on that may not get the same level of exposure as other film events. This holds especially true in a city like New York where everywhere you turn there is some big (or not so big) “cine-event” taking place.

Thus was the case earlier this month (May 9th to be exact) when I had the pleasure of attending the Awards Night for the 2013 Columbia University Film Festival. This event is the culmination of the efforts made by MFA students in the Arts Film Program at Columbia University and which is a showcase of their thesis short films, feature screenplays and teleplays. Before the concluding events on Thursday, the shorts were exhibited in a series of programming blocks at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Awards Night was held at the historic Paris Theatre in midtown Manhattan, where we were treated to a screening of all of the 2013 Jury Selects:

Above the Sea
A Grand Canal
Gloom
Keep the Change
Socks and Bonds
Total Freak

While I could not stay for the entire event, I was able to catch Above the Sea, Gloom and Socks and Bonds. I was particularly moved by the drama and emotions evoked in Above the Sea (Written/Directed by Keola Racela) and Gloom (Written/Directed by David Figueroa García).

PERFIDIA_Still Still from Gloom

Still from Above the Sea

Folks in the LA area will have the opportunity to screen the films next week (June 4-6) at the Linwood Dunn Theater housed in the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study.

Another part of the Awards Night festivities was the presentation of the annual Sarris Award to filmmaker Adam Davidson. Named after the noted film historian and author Andrew Sarris (1928-2012), since 2002, the Sarris Award honors artistic excellence as exemplified by distinguished alumni of Columbia’s film program. Previous recipients of this prize include James Mangold, Kathryn Bigelow, Kimberly Peirce and Lisa Cholodenko.

Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees!

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* A special thanks to Rick Dikeman for arranging my attendance to the event.

Columbia University Film Festival 2014

Columbia University Film Festival: A Recap