School of Film/Video Class Notes

Spring 2012

Andrew Ahn's (MFA '11, Film Directing Program) film DOL (FIRST
BIRTHDAY) screened at Fusion: Los Angeles LGBT People of Color Film Festival, presented by Outfest on March 24th.

Cody Cameron (Character Animation '96) will be directing 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2' with Kris Pearn.

Jason Carpenter (MFA '06, Program in Film and Video), Meejin Hong (MFA '12, Experimental Animation), Laida Lertxundi (MFA '07, Program in Film and Video), Norbert Shieh (MFA '11, Program in Film and Video), Deborah Stratman (MFA '95, Program in Film and Video), and Travis Wilkerson (MFA '01, Program in Film and Video) will screen films at this year's Ann Arbor Film Festival. http://aafilmfest.org/50/events/category/films_in_competition

Taylor Crowe (CER Character Animation '07) was featured in Dr. Darold Treffert's presentation "Taylor Crowe: Finding the Gifts, Using the Strengths: Empowering a Life with Autism." In conjuction with the presentation, he will also be showing his artwork, on dispaly at the Stayer Center.

Laura Kraning's (MFA '10, Program in Film and Video) DEVIL'S GATE (2011) has been nominated for a Golden Gate Award (New Visions) at the upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival. Other recent screenings include Big Muddy Film Festival, Rencontres Internationales (Centre Pompidou), Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Nasher Museum of Art (Duke University), and the Maysles Cinema (The Experiment). Additional screenings over the past year have included New York Film Festival (Views from the Avant-Garde), Ann Arbor Film Festival, Visions du Réel, Athens International Film &Video Festival, Wisconsin Film Festival, Antimatter Film Festival, and Chicago Underground Film Festival where DEVIL'S GATE received Honorable Mention.

Laida Lertxundi (MFA '07, Program in Film and Video) screened four films at the Whitney Biennial from March 28 through April 1, including FOOTNOTES TO A HOUSE OF LOVE (2007), MY TEARS ARE DRY (2009), LLORA CUANDO TE PASE / CRY WHEN IT HAPPENS (2010), and A LAX RIDDLE UNIT (2011). http://whitney.org/Events/LaidaLertxundiScreening

Susan Silas (MFA Art '83) has an exhibit at the Hebrew Union College Museum in NY through June 30. The work is a memorial testament of 580 female Jewish prisoners at the end of the second World War.

Karolina Sobecka's (MFA Integrated Media '06) exhibition "Human Moves Animal Visions" will be at the Super Frog Gallery in San Fransisco until May 3rd.

Peggy Wolff (BFA Film/Video '72) is a food writer for the Chicago Tribune. See her article on a Moroccan Passover meal here.

Winter 2012

Creative Captial grants were given to eight Calartians including Akosua Adoma Owusu (MFA Interschool '08), Norbert Shieh (MFA Film/Video '11), Deborah Stratman (MFA Film/Video '95), Malik Gaines (MFA Film/Video '99), Scott Barry (ACT Art '11), and Niel Doshi (Art '10).

Nicholas Fox-Gieg (MFA Experimental '04) has received an Eyebeam Fellowship.

Jorge Gutierrez (MFA Film/Video '00) is directing the film Day of the Dead, scheduled for release in the fall of 2014.

Curt Hahn (BFA, Live Action '72), CEO of Film House, Inc. in Nashville, recently directed Deadline, starring Eric Roberts.

Naotaka Hiro (MFA Film/Video '00) will be having a solo exhibition in New York at Brennan & Griffin titled Unknown: Video Works 2006-2011 from February 22nd through the 26th.

Shayne Hood (BFA Experimental ’95) will perform with Single Wing Turquoise Bird, a preeminent light show group of the 60s and 70s, as part of Pacific Standard Time at the Broad Center/UCLA on January 25-26. The event, presented by the Los Angeles Filmforum and the UCLA Department of Design will also include CalArts Herb Alpert School of Music faculty Miroslav Tadic in the program, which features real-time projection and live music.

Ryan Metlen (BFA Character Animation '99) has been working on "Hope and Death" to be released soon.

Jason McManus (BFA Film/Video '11) recently became the creative director for RGH Themed Entertainment in the LA office. He was also interviewed by InPark Magazine.

Laura Molina's (Film/Video '80) painting, AmorAlien, has been included in the National Museum of Mexican Art’s permanent collection. A reception for the artist will be held on Friday, January 20 from 6-8. In addition to her art work, Laura is running for Congress in California’s 25th District.

Nick Peterson (BFA Film/Video '99) has won Best Experimental Film in the Irvine Film Festival for his film, Drained.

Naomi Uman (MFA Film/Video '98) screened her film The Ukranian Time Machine at REDCAT on December 12th.

Margot Valentine (Zych) (BFA Film/Video '06) has published her short story, The Arching Space, in Fransesca Lia Block's anthology, Love Magick.

Fall 2011

Akosua Adoma's (MFA Film/Video '08) film, Mi Broni Ba screened at the National Gallery of Art this past June in Washington D.C. amongst short films by featured artists of the 56th Annual Robert Flaherty Film Seminar. In addition, Adoma's short film, DREXCIYA, made in collaboration with Dustin Thompson (MFA Intergrated Media '09) and Nathan Ruyle (Faculty),  won Best Experimental Short Film at Expresion en Corto, Festival Internacional de Cine de Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Peter Brinson (MFA Film/Video '00) who currently teaches at USC, was nominated for a Digital 25 award in the category of "Console and PC Gaming" for THE CAT AND THE COUP.

Jason Carpenter (MFA Film/Video '06) has won the Walt Disney Studios Award for Student Film for his film The Renter

The Los Angeles premiere of FROGTOWN, a feature film directed by C. Andrew Hall (MFA Film Directing '10)and produced by Nathan Jongewaard( MFA Film Directing '07)and J.R. Hughto(MFA Film/Video 06, Faculty), starring Alanna Blair (BFA Theater '08), took place on September 17th at the Downtown Independent Theater.

Gwenaëlle Gobé's (MFA Experimental Animation '06) documentary on commercial advertising, THIS SPACE AVAILABLE, has been included in DOC NYC and will screen at the IFC Center November 5-6.

Jeaux Janovsky (BFA Character Animation '05) was recently interviewed on CNN

MAURICE, a film made in France this past summer by Patrick Kack-Brice(BFA Film/Video '11) is playing at the San Francisco Documentary Festival as part of a shorts program entitled "The Business of Living" on October 22 and 25th.

John Lasseter (BFA Film/Video '79) will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Laida Lertxundi's (MFA Film/Video '07) film, CRY WHEN IT HAPPENS/ LLORA CUANDO TE PASE, screened in several festivals this past year, including Los Angeles Filmforum, Portland International Film Festival, NorthWest Filmforum, Seattle Wexner Center for the Arts, Ann Arbor Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, New York Film Festival, Views of the Avant Garde, Courtisane Film Festival, Crossroads Film Festival in San Francisco, Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Onion City Film Festival in Chicago.

Kelvin Park (MFA Film/Video Integrated Media) screened his documentary film, CHEONGGYECHEON MEDLEY: A DREAM OF IRON, at the LA Film Festival this summer.  It was described by The Examiner as one of the "not to be missed" films in the documentary competition.

Naoko Tasaka (MFA Film.Video '11) will screen her film LIGHT LEAKS THROUGH INTERVALS at the BratIslava Film Festival (Czech Republic).

Summer 2011

William Burgess (BFA Film/Video '06) is collecting submissions for the Druid Underground Film Festival. Submissions are dues by September 24th

Daina Krumins (MFA Film/Video '72) has had her artwork featured in the Autistic Artistic Carnival 2011

John Lasseter (BFA Animation '79) will recieve the Brittania Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment from the Brithish Academy of Film and Television Art Los Angeles (BAFTA) at the 2011 BAFTA Awards on November 10th

Jeff Phillips (See Art School Class Notes)

Spring 2011

CalArts School had a very strong showing at the 49th Ann Arbor Film Festival in March. 

• Alumni screenings invcluded work by Deborah Stratman (MFA Live Action '05), Helen Hill (MFA Experimental Animation '95), Beom Sik Shim (MFA Experimental Animation '09), Robert Fenz (MFA Film/Video '02), Natasha Mendonca, Norbert Shieh, Laura Kraning, Brigid McCaffrey, Laida Lertxundi, and Peter Bo Rapmund. 
• The following won awards at the festival: Natasha Mendonca ('10 MFA Program in Film and Video)Brigid McCaffrey (’10 MFA Program in Film and Video) won the Kodak/Grace & Wild Imaging Award for Best Cinematography for CASTAIC LAKE. 
• The late Helen Hill (’95 MFA Program in Film and Video) and Paul Gailiunus won the Flood of Love Award for THE FLORESTINE COLLECTION. 
• Deborah Stratman (’95 MFA Program in Film and Video) won the On the Fly Award for RAY’S BIRDS. 
• Thom Andersen (Faculty, Program in Film and Video) won Best Sound Design for GET OUT OF THE CAR.

Howard Better (BFA Experimental Animation '79) See Art Notes.

A memorial service for Valerie L. Bronson (MFA Film/Video '80) was held in Seattle on March 20, 2011.

Yves Chery, J.D., (MFA Live Action '93) is running for re-election to the board of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association.

Richard Cohen's (MFA Film/Video '73)documentary, Good Cat in Screenland, has recently been released on DVD.

Maile Colbert (MFA Integrated Media '04) ia a participating artist in Binaural/Nodar’s Paivascapes #1 – Paiva River Sound Festival.

Rideshare, the first full length feature film shot entirely on the HD iPhone4 and produced and directed by Donovan Cook (BFA Character Animation '90), received the 2011 Golden Kahuna Award from the Honolulu Film Awards and the Los Angeles International New Wave Film Festival's Best Performance in an Experimental Film and Honorable Mention in Experimental Film.

Donovan Vim Crony (a.k.a. Donovan Bobo) (MFA Film/Video'08) directed Lazy Mary's video Hangnail.

Vanessa Cruz (MFA Experimental Animation '98) was selected to receive a Fulbright Fellowship.

Greg Ercolano (BFA Experimental Animation '86) won the Academy Award for Technical Achievement for the design and engineering of a series of software systems culminating in the Rush render queue management system. 

Jessica "Jay" Erker (MFA Film/Video '01) has recently launched WEEKEND, "a new artist-run space dedicated to showing the work of under-represented contemporary artists in Los Angeles and beyond."

Ajah-Denise Fambo -Demarteu (Character Animation '99) recently produced Earth Keepers, a documentary short on sustainable business.

Juan Garza (BFA Film/Video '80) presented a live art piece in Irrational Exhibits, curated by Deborah Oliver (BFA Dance '79), at Track 16 Gallery.  

Aurora Guerrero  (MFA Film Directing '99) has written and directed her first feature film, Mosquita Y Mari.

Philip Hall (BFA Film/Video '76) will be participating in Dreams, Angels, Gods, Phantoms, Fish, Cars, and Landscapes exhibition at Uptown Body and Fender in Oakland CA. Opens May 6th 2011.

Dreamworks animator Jennifer Harlow (BFA Character Animation '10) was featured in a recent Mail Tribune article.

Gary Kaskel (Film/Video '74) produced Animal People, The Human Movement in America.

Brooke Keesling (MFA Experimental '99), who has been teaching in Film/Video at CalArts, was just named as Cartoon Network's Manager of Animation Talent Development. 

Carol Kim’s (MFA Integrated Media/Film/Video '03) multi-media project, "In one ear...and in another" -- iteration #2 – UNPLUGGED was presented at Boston Court Performing Arts Center’s Arttalk on March 12, featuring the writings and voices of alumni Doug Kearney (MFA Critical Studies ‘04; faculty) and Carol Kim, and faculty Mady Schutzman and Alice Tuan. In addition, she was in a performance with Carmina Escobar, In the Window/ En la Ventana, on May 7th at Folly Bowl in Altadena, CA and May 17th at Diapason Gallery in Brooklyn, NY.

A retrospective of Alexis Krasilovsky's (MFA Film/Video '84) work was held at the Gdansk Gallery of Photography, part of the National Museum of Poland on May 5th. She also screened her documentaries "Beale Street" and  "Exile" at the American Corner on May 6th. Her feature "Women Behind the Camera" screened at the Neptune Cinema on May7th.

CalArts' Character Animation faculty Dave Lebow (MFA Experimental Animation '00) won Honorable Mention for three works on exhibit at the International Contemporary Drawing Juried Exhibition at Fontbonne University Fine Arts Gallery in St. Louis. His work was also included in Los Angeles' La Luz De Jesus Gallery's Everything But the Kitchen Sync group show March 4-28, 2011.

Yoon Jung Lee's (MFA Film/Video '05) new film, Remember O Goddess, will be screened at the 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Miwa Matreyek (MFA Experimental Animation '07) screened her short film Grater City at the inaugural Palm Beach Women’s International Film Festival, April 7 – 10, 2011.

Mirka Morales (MFA Experimental Animation '94) short film IMUM COELI (bottom of the sky) premieres at the 19th annual Chicago Underground FIlm Festival in June. Her previous short film ELFMADCHEN also premiered at CUFF in 2009 and recieved Best Animation Award.

Mike Ott (BFA Film/Video '03; MFA Film Directing '05) screened his film Littlerock at Royal/T’s Cinema Speakeasy in Los Angeles on April 3rd as a benefit for the relief efforts in Japan.  

Nick Peterson (BFA Experimental Animation ’99), who directed Dark Mind (2008) is working on a new animated short film with Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder. 

Joanna Priestley (MFA Experimental Animation '85) won First Prize at the USA Film Festival and Second Prize at the Black Maria Film and Video Festival for her film Eye Liner.

Peter Bo Rappmund  (MFA Film/Video '10) recently screened his film Psychodrography at the Museum of Modern Art’s Documentary Fortnight 2011 and the Korean American Film Festival New York 2011.   

Mason Richard's (Film Directing '09) The Seawall will screen at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Engine Room's president, Daniel Schmit (BFA Experimental '89), was featured in an NBC piece on the company's special effects in Soul Surfer.

Director Maneesh Sharma's (MFA Film/Video '04) 2010 romantic comedy Band Baaja Baaraat (Wedding Music Band) won India's 2011 Star Screen, Zee Cine and Filmfare's awards for Best New Director.

Beomsik Shimbe Shim (MFA Experimental Animation '09)won Best Animated Short for his film The Wonder Hospital at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

In October 2010, Bryan Single's (BFA Live Action '97) documentary, Children Of War was the first film to have its World Premiere before world leaders from over 30 countries in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations.