UCLA student filmmakers to be honored with directing awards
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood named UCLA Filmmaker of the Year
A scene from Directors Spotlight winner "Ida y Vuelta"
UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television has announced the winners of its Directors Spotlight competition, nine outstanding student filmmakers whose work will be screened at Westwood's Mann Bruin Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11.
Also at the event, acclaimed film director and UCLA alumnus Gina Prince-Bythewood ("The Secret Life of Bees," "Love and Basketball") will be honored as UCLA Filmmaker of the Year.
Directors Spotlight is part of "UCLA Festival 2009: New Creative Work," a nine-day celebration of the newest work by students from the School of Theater, Film and Television.
The Spotlight event was created to provide an opportunity for student filmmakers to present their work to the entertainment industry. Since its inception more than a decade ago, the event has developed a reputation as a reliable predictor of future movie industry success, having helped launch the careers of numerous gifted filmmakers, including Alexander Payne ("Sideways"), Todd Holland ("Malcolm in the Middle"), Shane Acker ("9") and Gil Kenan ("Monster House").
The highlighted films were selected by a blue-ribbon panel of industry professionals that included director Charles Burnett, director Catherine Hardwicke, producer Michael London, Sundance Institute general manager John Nein and director Alexander Payne.
This year's Directors Spotlight winners are:
Amy Adrion: "Shoegazer"Adventure ensues when a bartender on a mission to find her cheating boyfriend gets stuck driving a drunk high schooler home.Joaquin Baldwin: "Sebastian's Voodoo"A voodoo doll must find the courage to save his friends from being pinned to death.Nathan Chitayat: "Subbing 4 Julia"On his first day as substitute teacher for a first-grade class, Geoff Hawley has a run-in with a part of his past that causes his whole life to unravel.Sharon Hill: "Shades of Gray"It's the gray areas that always leave us confused.Edward Kim: "To Wander in Pandemonium"When a young man's plot to steal a shipment of cocaine from his family goes awry, he makes a run for it, taking his 7-year-old daughter along for the ride.Sijia Luo: "Kidnap"I'm late to school because I got kidnapped in the morning!Puja Maewal: "Sidekick"A little girl's favorite superhero comes to life in the form of a disgruntled petty burglar.Jessica McMunn: "Soleil"A teenage girl flees to Guatemala in search of her past.David Martin-Porras: "Ida y Vuelta"A mother and her son are put in a revealing position when his luggage is inspected at an American airport. Forced to deal with their past, they come to a point where lying to each other is no longer an option.
The Mann Bruin Theater is located at 950 Broxton Ave. in Westwood Village. All festival events are free, but reservations are suggested, as space is limited. To R.S.V.P. for any event or to get more information, visit www.tft.ucla.edu/festival.
The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, consistently ranked among the nation's leading institutions, is unique in the world, bringing together the arts of theater, film and television in one academic institution. UCLA's reputation as an outstanding training ground for the theater, film and television professions and for critical scholarship is based on its long tradition of fostering creative growth, encouraging experimentation and ensuring artistic freedom. Many of the most respected names in the entertainment and communication arts and the world of scholarship are UCLA alumni.
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