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The department office is open M- F from 8 AM to 5 PM.

The department office is located in Manzanita Hall, Room 195. The department phone number is (818) 677-3192.

Click here for an article in Scr(i)pt Magazine that profiles CTVA's undergraduate and graduate screenwriting programs.

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Professor Alexis Krasilovsky accepting her WIN Award for Best Documentary

Women Behind the Camera has won the WIN (Women's Image Network) Film Festival 2009's "Best of Fest Award - Documentary Film." Congratulations to Prof. Alexis Krasilovsky.


Scripts written by two CTVA students have been named as finalists in the 2009 CSU Media Arts Festival Screenwriting competition: “Smokehouse” by Kahea Mathison, and “The Sounds of Silence” by Joseph Umana.


Update…The filing period for Fall 2010 graduation began October 1…it was previously December 4 but Admissions has adjusted it to October 1 (through March 5 to avoid late fee). Please remind students seeing you for advisement that they need to apply for graduation a year ahead of time!

Also, a reminder regarding Spring 2010 registration: the university will mail out Registration Access Mailers on October 28. Students can also review their registration appointment time online in the Portal Student Center. Registration-by-appointment is November 9 through December 9. Enrolling in a course for the purpose of repeating it is not permitted until the first day of classes and requires a permission number from the instructor (space permitting).


Alexis Krasilovsky's film, "End of the Art World," featuring Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, has been accepted for screening at the Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, on November 5, 2009.


Sounds of Silence and Undying Love, both senior film projects, are finalists in the CSU Media Arts Festival.


Senior Film Projects "Braceros" (Belinda Carreno), "Tag "(Henry Fernandez), and "Tango" (Allan Giron) are screening in Edward James Olmos' prestigious Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. Belinda Carreno will be interviewed live Monday night October 12th, 2009 on the 11pm News on Telemundo Channel 52. They will also run the "Braceros" trailer.

Senior Film Project "Family Pieces" recently won the award for Best Cinematography at the Hatch Film Festival in Bozeman, Montana this last week! Some of the people on the voting committee were Academy Award winning cinematographer Haskel Wexler, David Klein, and Crayton Smith.


Princess Grace Award Winning Film Short Film "TAG" (2009 Student Showcase Film) has been selected to screen in the 2009 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival!!! The film screens at The Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Monday (October 12th, 2009) @ 9:35pm.


SHOOTING WOMEN, produced and directed by Prof. Alexis Krasilovsky, will be screening at the Culture & Cultures Intercultural Film Festival in Soreze, France on September 14th. SHOOTING WOMEN has also been accepted for screenings at the Lady Bug Film Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, October 9-11 and the Lady Filmmakers' Festival at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, California, October 18, 2009. The film also screened at the Women Make Movies Film Festival at the Roxy Cinema in San Francisco, September 1st, and at the International Women's Film Festival in Rehovot, Israel on September 9th.


Starting Sept 14, students will need a signed petition to attempt a late add or drop along with a serious and compelling reason to justify their petition.

The Fall 2010 graduation filing period is December 4, 2009 through March 5, 2010. The filing period for Spring and Summer 2010 has already passed, students may still apply for Spring or Summer 2010 graduation but will be charged a late fee. Students who have earned 90 or more units toward their degree and who are within two semesters of completion should apply for graduation!

Reminder -- once students have applied for graduation they have a Graduation Evaluator in Graduation Evaluation Services with whom they can meet for a review of their non-major degree requirements. Evaluators are assigned according to student’s last name, if a particular evaluator is not available, any evaluator may be of assistance. Students should have a current Degree Progress Report with them when they meet with an evaluator. Grad Eval Services is located in Bayramian Hall #150.


Screenwriting Alumnus Michelle Morgan is featured in Variety.com. Click here to read the story.


The Senior Film Project "The Book of Tomorrow", 2008, 35mm, just won a Best Film Award at Comic Con 2009 in San Diego. The film was directed by David Yohe and has also screened at the LASHORTFEST, ACTION ON FILM FESTIVAL, THE SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL, and HOLLYSHORTS.


The Senior Film Project "Beats Per Minute" directed by Andrea Ball marks the first time a CSUN film has been made available for global distribution via iTunes. Shorts International, the world's leading short film distributor, acquired the worldwide rights to the film at Cannes in 2008. The film was also a West Coast Region Finalist in the 2008 Student Academy Awards.


The Reel Rasquache Festival of the U.S. Latino Experience in Film & Art announced 2008 CSUN Senior Film Project "Braceros" (directed by Belinda Carreno) as the winner of the 2009 Reel Rasquache Best Short Film. The award will be given at the closing ceremonies [Sunday, May 17, 8 PM -- Luckman Performing Arts complex on the California State University, Los Angeles campus].


The CTVA Living Learning Community residence hall is expanding next year. It will be located in a four-story building with more dormitories and more space for productions.

The CTVA Living Learning Community offers:
Equipment (lighting kits, cameras, green screen)
Editing Bay (Final Cut, Final Draft, Avid)
Study Room
Screening Room

The application to live in the CTVA Living Learning Community can be found at http://housing.csun.edu. The deadline for priority housing is on April 10.

For more information please visit our website at www.CinemaTVLiving.com.

 

IN THE NEWS...

CSUN Receives $1M Pledge From Anonymous Donor to Honor Entertainment Industry Alum Media

Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler
Carmen.chandler@csun.edu-- (818) 677-2130
(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Feb. 1st, 2010)

Portrain of Scott WeissTemma Willey, chair of Cal State Northridge’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts, announced today that the university has received a $1 million pledge from an anonymous donor who asked that the money be used for scholarships for students in her department.

The gift will be used to create the Scott M. Weiss Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Scott M. Weiss Memorial Scholarship Endowment in honor of a cinema and television arts alumnus and entertainment industry professional who was killed in an automobile accident in July 2008. Cal State Northridge has received a $1 million pledge to honor alum Scott M. Weiss who died in 2008. Cal State Northridge has received a $1 million pledge to honor alum Scott M. Weiss who died in 2008.

“This gift is not only generous, but inspiring,” Willey said. “Scott Weiss’ memory will be both an encouragement and a standard for a talented, creative and enterprising student to cross the bridge from school to his or her professional life. The gift truly is wonderful.”

Scott M. Weiss Scholarships will be awarded to cinema and television arts students who meet the university’s financial need requirements and demonstrate promise in their major measured by their passion, commitment, creativity and effort. A recipient must be at least a sophomore and maintain a 2.5 or higher grade point average. The first scholarship is expected to be awarded later this year.

Karen Kearns, associate dean of CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communications, had Weiss as a student in fall 2000.

“Scott was in my single-camera television class,” she said. “He and his group created a wonderful, five-minute piece called ‘Silver Lining.’ It was about a little girl who was hit by a car and killed. Her organs were donated and the family met the little girl who received their daughter’s heart. It was very touching. It also was the first time one of our television projects won a CSU Media Arts award. Scott was the editor on that team.

“He was a great student. He was funny and he worked really well with his group,” Kearns recalled.

“He just added so much to the team and its ability to create this wonderful story.” Kearns said she was “touched” that an endowment for cinema and television arts students was created in his honor.

“It is so difficult to think that a student this young has left us,” she said. “Yet, his legacy will live on in the work of these other students he is able to help.”

Scott Weiss transferred to Northridge in 1999 after having completed his general education requirements at Pierce and Valley Colleges. He enrolled in what was then the Radio-Television-Film Department with an eye on a career in the entertainment industry. During his final year at the university, Weiss obtained a much sought-after internship with a post-production company, earning credits toward his major at the same time. When he graduated in 2001, the company offered him a one-year contract to edit film coverage of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

In 2003, Weiss was hired by RIOT, a Santa Monica-based post-production company, to work exclusively on the company’s contract with the Fox Broadcasting Company. His editing skills were used to create promos for upcoming movies on the FX cable channel. Pleased with his work, Fox hired Weiss as an in-house editor in 2006 when it ended its contract with RIOT.

Two years later, on July 12, 2008, Weiss was killed in a automobile accident. He was 32.


In memory of Scott, two $5,000 awards are available in 2010

The CTVA faculty from all options will nominate students for the Scott Weiss Memorial Scholarship based on a student’s strong potential for success in his or her chosen field of interest.  The best candidates are those who have blossomed at CSUN and have found focus and direction through their work in the Cinema and Television Arts Department. The intention of the award is to both reward and assist a student with a monetary gift that insures that the student is able to complete in his or her degree.

Class Level
Applicant must be a junior, when the award is made.  The Scholarship is intended to help with tuition and related costs during the student’s senior year.

Academic Achievement
Grade point average in the CTVA Department must be at least 2.5; overall University GPA may also be taken into consideration.

Students do not apply for this scholarship.  Candidates are nominated by members of the CTVA faculty who have observed the talent, professionalism, and personal development of the students nominated.


CSUN Students Take Top Honors at the 2009 CSU Media Arts Festival

Media Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler
carmen.chandler@csun.edu
(818) 677-2130

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Dec. 1st, 2009) ―
Cal State Northridge students walked away with an armful of honors, including the top prize, at the prestigious annual California State University Media Arts Festival, held last month at Cal State Fullerton.

The festival’s top honor-the Best of Show Rosebud Award-went to Northridge students Joseph Umana and Shirley Kim for their short film, The Sounds of Silence. The film also earned a First Place Rosebud Award in the experimental category. For their creative efforts, Umana and Kim will share cash awards of $1,000 for the Best in Show and $500 for the First Place Award.

Joseph Umana, who graduates this December with a degree in cinema and television arts, also received a First Place Rosebud Award in the short screenplay category for his screenplay of The Sounds of Silence. This recognition comes with a $500 cash award.

Umana, 21, of West Hollywood, said he and Kim were honored to receive the festival’s top prize. “It was really cool,” he said.

Kim, 26, of Long Beach, agreed, saying it was “thrilling” to win the Rosebud Award.

“We worked really hard on the film. It took us almost a year to make it,” said Kim, who graduated in May with her degree in cinema and television arts. “We started this in our screenwriting class, where Joey talked about his idea and I knew it would work, and we went from there. The support and encouragement from the university has been wonderful, and we’re very grateful for that.”

Umana said he was hoping to tell a “different story, something that was large and weird and very visual” when he came up with the concept for The Sounds of Silence. The film, which has little dialogue, is the story of a young deaf boy who learns to overcome his disability and communicate through the art of mime. Umana said he was influenced in part by CSUN’s vibrant deaf student community.

Cinema and television arts professor Nate Thomas, who heads the university’s film option, said he was not surprised that The Sounds of Silence took top honors at the CSU Media Arts Festival.

“This is probably one of the most unique and innovative films to come out of our program in a long time,” Thomas said. “The film is very much a culmination of all they have learned not only in production classes, but in their theory and film history courses. They have taken what they have learned and really built upon it. This is not a dialogue-driven piece, it’s a very visual piece. People forget film is a visual art, not talking heads.”

The following cinema and television arts students also received awards and recognition for their films:

• Brian Halpoff, director, and Kira Foltz, producer, won second place recognition for their narrative entry Undying Love.

• David Jones, director, and Connor Tracy, producer, took third place honors for their animation film, Phoenix.

• Billiamarie Robinson received third place recognition for her television entry, Outdoor Adventure.

• Kahea Mathison won third place in the short screenplay division with her entry, Smokehouse.

Each of the three Rosebud Awards received by Umana and Kim earned CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts a $250 cash prize.

The CSU Media Arts Festival allows students in the California State University system the opportunity to be in professional competition. This gives students the necessary skills for transition between producing films, video and interactive media in college classes to related industries. Visit www.mediaartsfestival.org for a full listing of all winners and place awards. The festival operates under the umbrella of CSU Summer Arts, www.csusummerarts.org.


ATTENTION!

CTVA film production students/graduates

Submissions for 2010 Senior Film Showcase

All CTVA 452 films completed in the last 2 years are eligible for the showcase.

The showcase will be held Wednesday May 5th, 2010 at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood.

Submit 3 DVD copies of the film (fine cut w/ temporary mixed sound) to Michael Bryant in the equipment room, Manzanita Hall 191 by 3 PM Friday, February 26th, 2010. You must also fill out a short application form available at the CTVA website www.ctva.csun.edu. To qualify the film must be in post production and near ready for the negative cutting or digital intermediate process. A 35mm release print will be needed for the showcase.

All submissions will be viewed by an independent  jury who will select the 2010 Showcase participants.

If your film is selected you will need to submit ASAP on CD B&W still photos from the film as well as a 3 sentence Log Line. You will also need to submit the Cast List as well as the Crew List of the CTVA students involved (main crew members only, i.e. producer, director, sound, editor, cinematographer).  You must list a contact number for each main crew member. Please have this material ready because there will not be much time after the selection is made (around March 5th).

Questions may be directed to Professor Nate Thomas, Film Production Option Head, in MZ 320 or nate.thomas@csun.edu or at 818-677-3162.

Sr. Showcase Submission Form (.doc file)


Great News during trying economic times!
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Grants Film Production Option $86,000.

Eva Longoria Parker announcing award at the HFPA luncheon(Aug. 11, 2009) The Department of Cinema and Television Arts Film Production Option received $60,000 for production fellowships for senior film project students for the 2009- 2010 academic year from the prestigious Hollywood Foreign Press Association known internationally for their Golden Globe Awards. Another $26,000 was awarded to help mount the Annual Senior Film Showcase slated for May 2010 and to upgrade the ADR/Foley facility. The directors of the senior film projects have the distinction of being named "Hollywood Foreign Press Fellows" a distinction usually reserved for graduate students. Golden Globe nominee Evan Rachel Wood announced the award to CSUN at the HFPA's Annual Installation and Grants Luncheon held August 11th at the Beverly Hills Hotel.  Other celebrities in attendance included Warren Beatty, Rose McGowan, Jordana Brewster, Hugh Dancy, Carla Gugino, Rex Lee, Eva Longoria Parker, Dylan McDermott, Chris Pine, Jason Reitman Emmy Rossum, and Kerry Washington.  Professor Nate Thomas, Film Production Option Head, and Karen Kearns, Associate Dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, represented CSUN at the event. The  CTVA Department has a long standing relationship with the HFPA which started in 1996. Senior film production students also edit in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Senior Film Edit Suite and will prepare sound design Fall ‘09 in the state-of-the-art Hollywood Foreign Press Association Film Sound Mix Studio recently upgraded by the HFPA.

Click here to read the Variety.com news release.

Click here to read The Hollywood Reporter news release.

 

Picture of Warren Beatyy and Kerry Washington at presentation luncheon.Picture of Dylan McDermott and CSUN grants presenter Evan Rachel Wood at presentation luncheon.

Picture of Donald Petrie on set.Noted Film Director Donald Petrie Will Be Artist in Residence

Professor Nate Thomas, CTVA’s Film Production Option Head, has announced that film director and CSUN Theatre Alumnus Donald Petrie will spend this Fall 2009 semester as  the Artist in Residence in the film program.  Mr. Petrie will mentor the CTVA 452 Senior Film Project directors (Kaileigh Martin, Angelique Lettich, Doron Kipper, and Lhennards Acuna) who are also our Hollywood Foreign Press Association Fellows.  He will also hold workshops in other parts of the program and will visit courses in the other CTVA options as well.

Donald Petrie spent most of last year in Greece shooting the Fox Searchlight comedy My Life In Ruins starring Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) as a guide of the ancient ruins leading the most outrageous bus tour group ever. Richard Dreyfuss heads up an international cast. Donald’s most recent release was the quirky comedy Just My Luck, starring Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine. Before that, the political satire-romantic comedy Welcome To Mooseport, with Ray Romano and Gene Hackman.

Previously, Donald directed the hit comedy How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey for Paramount Pictures, and Miss Congeniality starring Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine and Benjamin Bratt for Warner Bros. Other feature credits include the gender-bender comedy The Associate starring Whoopi Goldberg, Disney’s My Favorite Martian with Jeff Daniels, Christopher Lloyd and the holiday hit Grumpy Old Men starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret.

Petrie began his entertainment career as an actor, getting his first professional gig while still a theater student at CSUN and going on to appear in many television episodes.  In 1980, Donald decided to shift his focus to directing when he was accepted as a Fellow at the American Film Institute.  While there he made a short film, The Expert that caught the eye of Steven Spielberg, who asked Donald to direct an episode of Amazing Stories.  That episode, entitled “Mister Magic”, starring Sid Caesar, began Petrie’s professional directing career. Donald then began a busy period directing episodic television, including MacGyver, The Equalizer and the landmark series LA Law.  A controversial episode he directed for the latter entitled “The Venus Butterfly” brought Petrie Directors Guild and Emmy nominations.

Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. offered Donald the chance to direct his first feature, Mystic Pizza.  Both a critical and box office success, Mystic Pizza starred Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor  and provided Julia Roberts with her breakthrough role. (It also gave a very young Matt Damon his first appearance.) Petrie then directed the wacky comedy Opportunity Knocks with Dana Carvey; Richie Rich, starring Macauley Culkin; and the sleeper romantic comedy The Favor with Elizabeth McGovern, Bill Pullman and Brad Pitt.

 


 	 Picture of film directors Alexis Krasilovsky (l) from Los Angeles and Lilly Wolfensberger-Scherz (r) from Mexico, in  Potsdam."Women Behind the Camera" Selected for Film Festivals

(For further information, please see www.womenbehindthecamera.com.)

Prof. Alexis Krasilovsky's film, "Women Behind the Camera" has been selected for the following festivals: (MORE...)