KCET's Annual 'Fine Cut' Student Film Festival Honors Filmmakers From Eight Schools, Premiering June 23
Four-Week Series to Showcase Student Films from Art
Center
College of Design, CalArts, Chapman University,
Columbia
College Hollywood,
Loyola Marymount University, UCLA and USCBurbank, Calif. - Jun. 10, 2014 - KCET, in collaboration with
the Bridges/Larson Foundation, presentsFINE CUT: KCET'S ANNUAL
FESTIVAL OF STUDENT FILMS
, honoring filmmakers from seven renownedschools across Southern California. Now celebrating its 17th year,
the four-week series will showcase some of the finest documentaries, comedic,
dramatic and animated shorts by students. The series, hosted by legendary
actor/producer Jack Larson, begins June 23, 2014 at 9 p.m.
This season's participating student filmmakers hail from Art Center College
of Design, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Chapman University,
Columbia College Hollywood, Loyola Marymount University (LMU), the UCLA School
of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT) and University of Southern
California (USC).
"We're excited to continue our 17-year tradition of showcasing
exceptional films from talented Southern California student filmmakers,"
said Bohdan Zachary, Senior Vice President of Broadcasting, Programming
and Syndication for KCETLink, who also serves as executive producer of the
annual series. "This body of work is so impressive that it's hard to
believe these films are made by students who are still in the process of honing
their craft. We are pleased to extend their fan base and share their work to a
diverse, enthusiastic Southern California audience."
FINE CUT: KCET'S FESTIVAL OF STUDENT FILMS, kicks off on Monday, June 23 with "Into the Silent Sea," a Grand
Prize winner at the prestigious 2013 BAFTA Student Awards. Directed by Andrej
Landin of Chapman University, the short follows Alexander, a lone cosmonaut,
who is adrift in orbit around Earth. He has lost communications and
life-support systems are dwindling fast. At the same time in Italy, a radio
engineer is working the night shift. He discovers a voice amidst the empty
static. Under desperate circumstances, and across vast distances, an intense
connection is made.
Other films featured that night include: "US" by Seth Ronquillo of UCLA
TFT, which chronicles the
American Dream through the eyes of an undocumented immigrant family; and
"In Passing," a short film about a man who jumps off a building to end it all,
and the woman he falls in love with on the way down, directed by Alan Miller of
USC.
The series will also feature, "Yamashita" by Hayley Foster of LMU on July
7, which is the 2014 winner for Animation in the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 41st Student Academy Awards
competition.
FINE CUT is made possible by the
Bridges/Larson Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting
programs that serve film students.
Selected films are chosen by professors and submitted to KCET for final
selection. FINE CUT showcases films as diverse as the students who
make them. Projects making the final cut have ranged from
nail-biting suspense to gut-wrenching stories of love and loss.
Often, FINE CUT marks the television debut of a student's
work - which has led to other industry opportunities. Spanish-born director
David Martin Porras, whose UCLA TFT film "Ida y Vuelta" (Round Trip) was
featured in the 2010 series, is now a director at Disney/ABC Television Group.
Detailed information about all of the film shorts in this year's series is
available at kcet.org/finecut, which includes filmmaker biographies, film
synopses, streaming video and discussion boards. Below, please find a complete
list of films and scheduled airdates:
MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
INTO THE SILENT SEA
Andrej Landin, Chapman University
US
Seth Ronquillo, UCLA TFT
IN PASSING
Alan Miller, USC
MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014
MY LIGHT HAS GONE
Jason Kummerfeldt, Chapman University
ALMA
Paul Joseph, Columbia College Hollywood
CYBERBULLIED
Doug Cembellin, USC
MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014
YAMASHITA
Hayley Foster, LMU
FABIAN DEBORA, A LIFE FOR ART
Jessica Kaye, USC
THE PROMISED LAND
Vanessa Knutsen, UCLA TFT
MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014
PRESENT TRAUMA
Mark Manalo, USC
SWEET, SWEET COUNTRY
Dehanza Rogers, UCLA TFT
ISTIFA (RESIGNATION)
Rahat Mahajan, Art Center College
NEW YEAR'S EVE
Eileen Hsu, CalArts
About KCET
On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital
role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central
California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well
as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its
50-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and
regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and
documentary productions, its quality educational family and children's
programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET
is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about
KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community
events, please visit kcet.org. KCET is a service of KCETLink.
About The Bridges/Larson Foundation
The Bridges/Larson Foundation was created by filmmaking collaborators James
Bridges and Jack Larson in 1992, just before Bridges' death. The writer and
director of films such as Urban Cowboy andThe China
Syndrome
, Bridges was passionate about encouraging educators to train thenext generation of filmmakers. Actor and producer Jack Larson--perhaps best
known as cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the 1950s TV version of Superman--has
upheld Bridges' vision by consistently funding programs that serve film
students. In addition to supporting Fine Cut, the Bridges/Larson
Foundation has made major donations to the UCLA School of Theater, Film and
Television and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Over the years, the foundation has expanded
its purview beyond film-education programs. Larson is especially proud of
funding AIDS research and a local organization called Lamp Community, which
works to end homelessness.
About Art Center College of Design
Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, Art
Center College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. Art
Center offers 11 undergraduate and six graduate degrees in a wide variety of
visual and applied arts as well as industrial design disciplines. In addition
to its top-ranked academic programs, the College also serves members of the
Greater Los Angeles region through a highly regarded series of year-round
educational programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for both its
ties to industry and social impact initiatives, Art Center is the first design
school to receive the United Nations' Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
status. Throughout the College's long and storied history, Art Center alumni
have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important
issues in our society.
About CalArts
Newsweek/The
Daily Beast
. With its six related schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance,Film/Video, Music and Theater, CalArts is unique in its multidisciplinary
approach to studying the arts and was one of the first schools in the country
to offer a program in World Music for performance. CalArts encourages students
to recognize and explore the complexity of the aesthetic, social and political
aspects of the arts. It is supported by its distinguished faculty of
practicing artists and provides its BFA, MFA and DMA students with both
hands-on training and engagement with the cultural community necessary for
artists' growth. CalArts was founded in 1961--and opened in 1969--as the first
institution of higher learning in the U.S. specifically for students interested
in pursuing degrees exclusively in the visual and performing arts.
About Chapman University Lawrence and Kristina Dodge
College of Film and Media Arts
One of the premier film schools in the country, Dodge
College of Film and Media Arts offers students the unique opportunity to learn
filmmaking in a hands-on environment modeled on a working studio. The
college is comprised of the Sodaro-Pankey Undergraduate School of Film and
Media Arts, offering degrees in film production, film studies, screenwriting,
creative producing, television and broadcast journalism, public relations and
advertising, screen acting and digital arts; and the graduate Conservatory of
Motion Pictures, offering M.F.A. degrees in film production, film and
television producing, production design, and screenwriting, and an M.A. in film
studies. Two joint M.F.A. degrees in producing are also offered in conjunction
with the business (M.F.A./M.B.A.) and law (M.F.A./J.D.) schools. Dodge College
is housed in Marion Knott Studios, a state-of-the-art, 76,000-square-foot
studio and classroom building that provides students with 24-hour access to
sound stages, edit bays, Dolby surround mixing, a motion capture stage and
more. With an Oscar and Emmy-award winning full-time faculty that boasts
more feature film credits than any other film school, Dodge College is where
students learn the entertainment business from the inside out.
About Columbia College Hollywood
Columbia College Hollywood is a Tarzana-based 60+ year-old, not-for-profit
film school offering BFA degrees with emphases in directing, producing,
cinematography, writing, and editing/VFX, which includes sound. CCH is a culture of filmmaking in which the
nurturing of the student's unique voice is paramount. Classes are taught by industry professionals
in a foundational environment. Alumni of CCH include directors Robert
Schwentke (Red), Salim Akil (Jumping The Broom and Sparkle), Jaume
Collett-Serra (Non-Stop, Orphan), Timothy Linh Bui (Powder
Blue
) and Barry Cook (Mulan).About Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television
Movie industry moguls helped establish Loyola Marymount University's (LMU)
current campus on the bluffs above west Los Angeles in the 1920s. By 1964, LMU
was formally teaching film and television curriculum, and in 2001, the School
of Film and Television (SFTV) was established as its own entity. Today, SFTV offers students a comprehensive
education where mastering technical skills and story is equally important to
educating the whole person, including the formation of character and values,
meaning and purpose. SFTV offers undergraduate degrees in animation,
production, screenwriting, film and television studies and recording arts; and
graduate degrees in production, screenwriting and writing and producing for
television. The school is one of the few film programs providing students with
a completely tapeless model of production and post-production, and SFTV's
animation program is one of the few worldwide that teaches virtual
cinematography. Selected alumni include John Bailey, Bob Beemer, Francie Calfo,
Brian Helgeland, Francis Lawrence, Lauren Montgomery, Jack Orman, Van Partible
and James Wong, among others. Get more information at sftv.lmu.edu or
facebook.com/lmusftv.
About UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
The vision of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television is to serve
as a premier global interdisciplinary professional school that develops
outstanding humanistic storytellers, industry leaders and scholars whose
diverse, innovative voices enlighten, engage and inspire change for a better
world. Consistently ranked as one of the top elite entertainment and performing
arts institutions in the world, the School offers an innovative curriculum that
integrates the study and creation of live performance, film, television and the
digital arts. Our distinguished graduate and undergraduate programs include
acting, directing, writing, producing, animation, cinematography, and lighting
design, set design, costume design, sound design, Moving Image Archive Studies,
and offers PhDs in Theater and Performance Studies and Cinema & Media
Studies. For more information, visit www.tft.ucla.edu.
About USC School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California's School of
Cinematic Arts is one of the leading media schools in the world. Founded in
collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1929 over
85 years ago, the USC School of Cinematic Arts has fueled and mirrored the
growth of entertainment as an industry and an art form. The School offers
comprehensive programs in directing, producing, writing, critical studies,
animation and digital arts, production, interactive media and games, all backed
by a broad liberal arts education and taught by leading practitioners in each
field. Its more than 11,000 alumni are among the world's most distinguished
animators, scholars, teachers, writers, directors, producers, game designers,
cinematographers, editors, sound experts and industry executives. Since 1973
not a year has passed without an alumnus or alumna being nominated for an
Academy Award. For more information, visit cinema.usc.edu.