Book, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Film Festival Directory

festival_2012_1c.indd 1

5/23/12 5:12 PM

JULIE DASH Alumna of the Year

GALE ANNE HURD

UCLA School of Theater, Film And Television and Producers Guild of America

Vision Award

HONOREES

HARVEY WEINSTEIN CHAMPION SPIRIT AWARD

ALEXANDER PAYNE FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR

JOHN LOGAN EXCELLENCE IN SCREENWRITING award

the ucla school of theater, film and television film FESTIVAL 2012 festival events and contents

Program Cover Design by Ian Roth ’11

1 Honorees and Special Guests

3 A Message from the Dean

4 A Message from the Producer

Friday, June 8, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 9, 2:00 p.M.

Saturday, June 9, 12:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 9, 7:00 p.m.

Monday, June 11, 7:30 p.m.

5 Opening Night James Bridges Theater, UCLA 6 Design Showcase West Freud Playhouse, UCLA 9 a view into the classroom (mias) James Bridges Theater, UCLA 10 Festival of Animation James Bridges Theater, UCLA 12 Screenwriters Showcase WGA Theater, Beverly Hills

Tuesday, June 12, 7:30 p.m. 17 Producers Marketplace Billy Wilder Theater, Westwood Thursday, June 14, 7:30 p.m.

21 Directors showcase Director’s Guild of America Theater, Los Angeles

29 MFA Actors

32 Playwrights, Stage Directors

34 Acknowledgements

35 Contributors

with SPECIAL Guests *Alumni

dustin lance black*

james l. brooks

channing dungey*

mark gill

todd holland*

lynette howell

hawk koch

michael mann

mike werb*

Shailene Woodley

Writer/Director

Producer/Director

Executive

Producer

Producer/Director

Producer

Producer

Writer/Director

Writer

Actor

From the Dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television

teri schwartz

Welcome to the 2012 UCLA/TFT Film Festival. As a UCLA alumna and now TFT dean, it is a great honor for me to join all of you in celebrating the outstanding achievements of our students and in recognizing distinguished industry leaders over the course of this very special week.

I thank you all for supporting a diverse group of new storytelling voices whose exciting works have captured our imagination with originality, depth, artistry, and skill. Festivals showcase wonderful new work while uniting all of you who love and support film, great storytelling and the discovery of exceptional new talent.

For our students, exhibiting their work at festivals is a transformational experience that serves them well throughout their careers, while inspiring them to take their work to even greater levels of excellence. This year alone, we have seen heightened participation by our students on the festival circuit worldwide due to our new engaged focus on festival strategies. Our amazing students have achieved extraordinary success showcasing their work at Telluride, Cannes, Sundance, Palm Springs International Shorts Fest, the College Emmys and the Student Academy Awards, not to mention other important regional festivals around the world. To cap off a marvelous festival year, you will get to see powerful, imaginative work on display throughout this special week.

Whether it’s Festival week or our many great programs and initiatives on display every day, it’s an exciting time to be at TFT. Our new vision is simple, yet powerful: for TFT to serve as a premier interdisciplinary global professional school that develops industry leaders and scholars whose diverse voices enlighten, engage and inspire change for a better world. Without question, our students, faculty and alumni represent the very best of our storied past and our exceptionally bright future.

Enjoy your Festival week. And, once again, please join me in congratulating all of our TFT students for another wonderful year of outstanding work. welcome

www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

3

From the Producing director

MYRL A. SCHREIBMAN

welcome

Independent Voices! It’s what distinguishes the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television as a unique place of budding artists whether they are writers, producers, animators, designers, directors, cinematographers, actors or scholars. They leave an indelible effect upon the Industry. Independent Voices! The stories that our students tell whether on the page, in front of or behind the camera are from their soul, their passion and their individual lives. They demonstrate a unique way of looking at the world, of seeing the miniscule in the largesse and the largesse in the miniscule or the complexities of the human spirit and the passion of emotions that transport us through their stories. They make us laugh and cry or go away thinking about an issue that requires further thought if not action. Independent Voices! The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Film Festival honors luminaries who our students look to for inspiration and ideals and whose work is deeply admired and respected for its own independent voice and spirit. In my many years in the industry as a working producer/director I have seen new talent come forward with fresh ideas and fresh voices. It is from festivals such as this that new artists emerge and talent is discovered. We have the writers, animators, directors, designers, actors, cinematographers and producers of tomorrow. All artists in their own right. “To be an artist,” says the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, “means to search, to find and look at life’s realities. To be an artist means to never look away.” Well our students in the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television never do look away. They have the courage to look forward, to go through the door creating what’s next!

4

www.tft.ucla.edu/ festival

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 7:30 P.M. James Bridges Theater, UCLA

Co-sponsored by

The Student Director’s Association Host: William McDonald, Professor, Vice Chair

HONOREE JULIE DASH MFA ’85 Alumna of the Year

With the debut of “Daughters of the Dust” in 1992, Julie Dash MFA ’85 became the first African American woman to have a full-length general theatrical release in the United States. In 1999, the twenty-fifth Annual Newark Black Film Festival honored the film as being one of the most important cinematic achievements in Black Cinema in the 20th century, and in 2004, the Library of Congress placed the film in the National Film Registry, a select group of American films preserved as National Treasures. Dash was born and raised in New York City and, while a student at UCLA she was a key figure in what came to be known as the LA Rebellion movement of young Black filmmakers. She has toured nationally and internationally with her work, and she has received numerous awards since embarking on her film career. Her films include “Funny Valentine” (1999), “Incognito” (1999) and “The Rosa Parks Story” (2002). She is currently developing feature projects at Agape Media International with Mark Harris and Michael Bernard Beckwith. When not working on her film projects, Ms. Dash is a frequent lecturer at many of the leading Universities, Art Museums and film festivals in the United States and abroad. Julie is planning to direct the feature movie “Tupelo 77” later this year.

Presentation of student-voted awards

Film Screenings THE FOREIGNER (16:27) Directed by Alethea Avramis THE BALLAD OF FINN + YETI (18:16) Directed by Meryl O’Connor

Through the red doors (11:45) Directed by Manaal Khan kiss me (11:24) Directed by Jules Nurrish persistence (12:00) Directed by Joel Vázquez-Cárdenas thursday dinners (6:37) Directed by Priya Lorenz arthur and the bunnies (19:00) Directed by Dana Turken waltham vanguard (15:10) Directed by Bill Barker say goodnight (4:15) Directed by Carlos Marques

opening night

OPENING NIGHT

BE QUIET (3:30) Directed by Heng Zhang

5

saturday, JUNE 9, 2:00 to 5:00 P.M. Freud Playhouse, UCLA

The tenth annual Design Showcase West at UCLA is the only national entertainment design showcase on the West Coast and features the work of students graduating from the nation’s top university design programs including UCLA; AFI; California Institute of the Arts; New York University; UC Irvine; UC San Diego; University of North Carolina School of the Arts; the University of Texas, Austin; and Yale. Exhibits include design in costume, scenic, sound and lighting. Design Showcase West is hosted by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; the Costume Designers Guild, Local 892; the United Scenic Artists, Local 829, and the Art Directors Guild, Local 800. The Showcase is attended regularly by entertainment producers, directors and A-list designers who are looking for new talent.

Admission is free. Parking is available in Lot 3 on a pay-by-space basis.

For more information, please visit www.tft.ucla.edu/dsw

Swarovski Shooting Star Award for Excellence in Costume Design The collaboration between the David C. Copley Center for The Study of Costume Design and Swarovski, the world’s greatest crystal company, continues this year with the presentation of the Swarovski Shooting Star Award for Excellence in Costume Design to an MFA Costume Design student at TFT.

design showcase west

Design Showcase West is co-hosted by…

6

DESIGN SHOWCASE wEST

FEATURED AT DESIGN SHOWCASE WEST MASTER OF FINE ARTS DESIGN CLASS OF 2012

scenic Designer

lighting Designer

HANA SOOYEON KIM

KAITLYN E. PIETRAS

JOHN A.GAROFALO

(213) 399-9015 hanasooyeon@gmail.com www.hananow.com

(310) 975.9742 kaitlyn.pietras@gmail.com kaitlynpietras.com

johngarofalo@me.com

Hana Kim is a MFA Design candidate at UCLA. She received a BFA in Visual Communication Design from Seoul National University in Korea in 2009. She was a member of Samsung Design Membership (SDM) from 2007 to 2009. Her most recent design credits include: projection design for Disney’s new musical “Aladdin” at the 5th Avenue Theater, directed by Casey Nicholaw; set and projection design for “Eréndira” at UCLA, directed by Monica Payne; and set and projection design for Offenbach’s “Orpheus In The Underworld” at the UCLA Herb Albert School of Music, directed by Peter Kazaras. She has been nominated for Best CGI/ Video category in Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and LA Weekly Award for her projection design on “Futura” at the Theater@ BostonCourt in 2010. She is the recipient of 2012 Princess Grace Awards in Scenic Design.

She was also featured in the March issue of the design magazine, “Form.”

Kaitlyn Pietras is a MFA Design Candidate and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. She works as a Scenic and Projection Designer and is currently designing the scenery for an upcoming production of “L’incoronazione Di Poppea,” directed by James Darrah. Recent productions include Scenic and Projection Designs for “The Clean House,” directed by April Shawhan and “Rent, “directed by Joe Olivieri. She also designed Shadow Puppets and Projections for a Geffen Playhouse production of “Tall Tales: The Myths Of Magical Trees,” written and directed by Perry Daniel.

John A. Garofalo has been actively involved in technical theatre and design since the age of nine. His lighting design credits include theatre, dance, rock and roll and club installations. John is overjoyed to have discovered an intense love for opera, and has had the distinct pleasure of also designing multiple operas since he began his studies UCLA. His love for theatre design and the collaborative artistic process also extends beyond the realm of the visual and into aural realm of sound design. In addition to his MFA, expected in June 2012, John holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Boston College, and an MBA with a Finance Emphasis, from Loyola Marymount University. Beyond his studies at UCLA, John is Principal Lighting Designer for the Loyola Marymount University Dance Program and Designer-In-Residence for Holly Johnston’s “Ledges and Bones Dance Project.” He also plays the dobro, banjo, guitar, and harmonica for the country and bluegrass band “Suicide Cowboy,” for which he is also a vocalist.

design showcase west

The Master of Fine Arts in Design for Theater and Entertainment Media is a three year program offering advanced professional training in four artistic areas: Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design and Sound Design. The program is highly selective and admits small numbers of students each year, permitting small classes and individualized attention not available in other professional training programs. The program’s goal is to produce artists who know how to think creatively, how to conceptualize and how to find new ways of designing.

Students frequently work as assistants to faculty members on their professional projects. There is a strong emphasis on helping the student build a professional portfolio that reflects the designer’s unique individual style and approach as an artist.

scenic Designer

www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

7

lighting Designer

costume Designer

costume Designer

DONNY JACKSON

HANNAH GREENE

STEPHANIE HELMS

DANIEL MAHLER

(310) 721-9313 mail@donnyjackson.com www.donnyjackson.com

(706) 409-3818 hannah_greene@hotmail.com www.costumeologie.blogspot.com

(432) 638-1276 stephaniehelmsdesigns@yahoo.com stephaniehelms.com

(805) 279-5399 Daniel.M.Mahler@gmail.com

As a lighting and scenic designer, Donny Jackson has spent the past ten years working in theatre.

His design work has been seen in several locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange County, including the Cypress Civic Theatre in Cypress and the Color and Light Theatre in Westwood. Recent design work includes “The Cherry Orchard” with Tony Award®-winning director, Mel Shapiro and the premiere of the play “Antwone Fisher: A Play,” based on the 2002 film. Other work includes production design on the 2009 Web TV pilot “Double Cross” and serving as both Lighting Designer and Technical Director for the Emerging Artists Series of musical theatre showcases at the Nakano Theatre in Torrance. He currently holds a Bachelors Degree in Technical Theatre & Design from California State University, Long Beach, as well as his Associate Degree in Theatre from Fullerton College. This June he will finish his graduate school work, obtaining his Masters Degree in Lighting Design from the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television.

Being what is lovingly referred to as an “Army Brat,” Hannah Greene hails from nowhere in particular but grew up moving around Germany and the United States. She graduates this year with a Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design and is the 2011 recipient of the Swarovski Award for Excellence in Costume Design. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication from Berry College. During her time at UCLA, Hannah has designed for theater, film, television and opera. Her most recent designs include the play “O.P.C.,” written and directed

by Eve Ensler, and the opera “Orpheus In The Underworld,” directed by Peter Kazaras.

Stephanie Helms is an MFA candidate in Costume Design at UCLA. She has been designing and illustrating for over 10 years with a background in dance and art. Growing up in Texas, she filled her time dancing and designing. In 2004, she received a Bachelor of Science in Apparel Design and Manufacturing from Texas Tech University. Her costume design credits include dance, theater and film.

Recent credits include UCLA’s “A Chorus Line,” directed by Jeremy Mann, “Human Nature,” directed and performed by Sheetal Gandhi, and UCLA’s “Forgotten World” directed by Shirley Jo Finney. Beyond her studies, Stephanie specializes in designing for stop motion animation, classical tutus and apparel. She is also a freelance illustrator.

design showcase west

8

costume Designer

www.tft.ucla.edu/ festival

Daniel Mahler is a Los Angeles native who has worked throughout the region as an entertainment professional. As a Costume Designer he has worked with the Independent Shakespeare Company (“The Tempest,” “Dr. Faustus”), Classical Theater Lab (“As You Like It”), and Be Flat Productions (“Top That!”). As Assistant Costume Designer he has worked with Reprise Theater Company (“Kiss Me Kate,” “Man Of La Mancha”) and Bare Bones Theater (“The After Math,” “Don Juan”). Mahler has also worked as Production Stage Manager for the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. At UCLA, he had the privilege of working with author and director Antwone Fisher as Costume Designer for his original production of “Antwone Fisher: A Play.” Mahler is also the co-author of “The Bedroom Window,” an original musical which premiered at the Odyssey Theatre in 2010 and was the recipient of Stage Scene LA’s award for “Most Promising New Musical.” Mahler holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from California State University, Northridge and is an MFA candidate in Costume Design at UCLA.

saturDAY, JUNE 9, 12:00 P.M. James Bridges Theater, UCLA

a view into the classroom

MOVING IMAGE ARCHIVE STUDIES PROGRAM A View into the Classroom features the work of students in “FTV 200: Bibliography and Methods of Research.” For their final projects in this graduate seminar, first year MA students in the Moving Image Archive Studies (MIAS) program and the program in Cinema & Media Studies (CMS) will present proposals for original film series designed by students individually and in pairs. As an exercise in film programming, students created potential film series based on primary archival research conducted at area archives and libraries and grounded in the research methodologies learned in their first year of study. The proposed series include “Crossing Borders, Bridging Gaps: the Global Immigrant Experience through Film,” “Brighter than a Thousand Suns: Moving Images and Atomic Power,” “Am I Making You Uncomfortable?,” on cinema that explores taboos, “Heist Society,” on criminal heist films, and “Bonjour La France!,” on French and American musicals set in France, among other projects. Students will pitch their proposed series accompanied by clips and highlights of their programs.

The MIAS M.A. program at UCLA is offered jointly by the Cinema & Media Studies faculty in the School of Theater, Film & Television and the Department of Information Studies in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, in cooperation with the UCLA Film & Television Archive. This highly selective program was the first graduate degree established in the U.S. to educate professionals and scholars in this rapidly expanding field. MIAS students deal with the challenges of ever-changing technology, the complex legal and policy environment and the evolving cultural contexts and expectations surrounding moving image archiving. Students also have the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice at over 30 industry sites and cultural institutions in the U.S. and worldwide.

instructor participating students Jesse Frankushen, MIAS Kimberlee Granholm, MIAS Vinessa Knowles, MIAS Jon Marquis, MIAS Jeff McCluskey, MIAS Heather Nolan, CMS Javier Servin, MIAS Mónica Taher, CMS Rachel Wilson, MIAS

a view into the classroom

a view into the classroom

Allyson Nadia Field, Assistant Professor, CMS

9

festival of animation

10

For almost 60 years, the UCLA Animation Workshop has promoted its “one person, one film” philosophy, allowing animators of all types to realize their concepts independently. The Workshop works in all mediums (be it pencils, clay, or Maya), and offers courses in all aspects of the production of an animated film. The Walter Lantz Digital Animation Studio serves as the analog-and-digital research and production facility for thesis students.

Recent graduates have been nominated for numerous Oscar® and Annie awards, the latter conferred by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA). In 2007, Gil Kenan ’02 was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar® for his directorial debut, “Monster House,” and “The Simpsons Movie,” directed by David Silverman ’79, MFA ’83, collected seven Annie nominations. A landmark event in 2009 was the release of the Oscar®-nominated “9,” produced by directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”), an expanded feature adaptation of the Student Oscar®-nominated short thesis film created by Shane Acker ‘04 in the Animation Workshop.

2011 Student Academy Award 2011 finalist Erick Oh ’11 is now an animator at Pixar Animation Studios, where he contributed to the upcoming release “Brave.”

Student Awards: Best in Show, Best Story, Best Animation, Best Art Direction, Most Innovative

Poster Designed by Heng Zheng

film screenings include THE BOX (2:40) by Kartika Mediani

THE GREAT ASTROH! (1:45) by Octavio Villegas

FAMILY (2:05) by Alex Wong

LIGHT UP AMERICA (2:00) by Zachary Linf

MAMA’S BOY (2:20) by David Yee

BACTERIA BUDDIES (4:50) by Marika Boehler

OF ROBOTS AND REDNECKS (16:25) by Kevin Davis

RIETOKKI (2:20) by Rami Kim

TERROR IN A THREE-PIECE SUIT (4:00)

by Ariel Goldberg

JACK THE RIPPER AND THE GHOST OF VICTIMS PAST (5:48) by Valeria Giulli

FIXED (1:01) by Kristin Solid

THE SECRET OF THE WARDROBE (1:44) by Jing Wang

RAINY DAY DUCKS (2:30) by Danielle Hetmuller

TO THE FAIREST (2:30) by Yangzi She

HAPPY THOUGHTS (3:00) by Seung

MUSSEL MADNESS (9:20) by Angie Lin

PORKCHOP & FLATSCREEN (10:00) by Emezie Okorafor

MISSING CHILD (2:45) by Arem Kim

BASEBALL BOOGIE (3:00) by Vivian Lee

GARY’S MAGICAL FLIGHT (3:14) by Kevin Harman

THE ALL-NIGHTER (1:30) by Yinglei Yang

SIREN (3:50) by George Fleming

LEVEL UP (4:00) by Stacy Eduarte

WEPO (2:30) by Jacqueline Marion

CARNOTUARUS (4:00) by Benett Kim

BLOBS (2:05) by Leslie Chou

PINING (2:40) by Heather Collins

DAME LA MUERTE (1:30) by Eevee Valenzuela

the box by Kartika Mediani

light up america by Zachary Linf

mama’s boy by David Yee

of robots and rednecks by Kevin Davis

the all-nighter by Yinglei Yang

www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

festival of animation

festival of animation

11

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 7:30 P.M. Writers Guild of America Theater, 135 South Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills

Host: Mike Werb*, Screenwriter Honoree: John Logan, Excellence in Screenwriting Special Guest: Michael Mann, Writer/Director Honoree: Dustin Lance Black*, Lew and Pamela Hunter/ Jonathan and Janice Zakin Chair in Screenwriting The UCLA Graduate Screenwriters Association welcomes you to the 16th Annual Screenwriters Showcase.

This event celebrates the work of UCLA’s Graduate Screenwriting students past and present. Portions of eight scripts will be previewed in five-minute staged excerpts. These scripts were selected by a panel of over 200 industry judges in a competition that began in March.

Presented by Michael Mann

Honoree john logan

Film WINNERS

excellence in Screenwriting Award

Jumping ship by Kurtis Estes please don’t feed the children by Paul Bertino sins of the father by Tamara Carter Wendigo by Devin Fearn vinegar hill by Michael Brettler

TELEVISION WINNERs screenwriters showcase

after life by Jim McDermott

12

Orion by Janis Robertson paradise by Maggie Malone *Alumni

John Logan received the Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critic Circle and Drama League awards for his play “Red.” This play premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in London and at the Golden Theatre on Broadway. “Red” has subsequently been seen in more than 80 productions across the United States and in over 30 foreign countries. He is also the author of more than a dozen other plays including “Never the Sinner” and “Hauptmann.” As a screenwriter, Logan is a three time Oscar® nominee (“Hugo,” “The Aviator,” “Gladiator”). Other film work includes “Rango,” “Coriolanus,” “Sweeney Todd,” “The Last Samurai,” “Any Given Sunday” and “RKO 281.” He is currently working on the new James Bond film “Skyfall” and the film adaptation of the musical “Jersey Boys.”

Past Honorees Aaron Sorkin (2011); Laeta Kalogridis* (2010); Dustin Lance Black* (2009); Eric Roth* (2008); Daniel Pyne* (2007); Scott Kosar* (2006); Alexander Payne* and Jim Taylor (2005); David Koepp* (2004); Darren Star* (2003); Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandell (2002); Robert Towne (2001); Ernest Lehman, Madelyn Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll, Jr. (2000); Hollywood Blacklisted Screenwriters and Kirk Douglas (1999); James Cameron and Daniel Taradash (1998); Julius Epstein (1997) *Alumni

excellence in screenwriting AWARD PRESENTED BY

michael mann Michael Mann made his feature directorial debut with “Thief,” following it with acclaimed films such as “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Heat,” “The Insider,” which received seven Academy Award® nominations, “Ali,” “Collateral” and “Public Enemies.” Films he has produced include “Hancock” and “The Aviator” which garnered 11 Academy Award® nominations and five wins.

In television Mann is a multiple Emmy® winner and among other work, executive produced “Miami Vice,” “Crime Story,” “Drug Wars,” HBO’s “Luck” and its forthcoming series on young war photographers, “Witness.”

screenwriters showcase

screenwriters SHOWCASE

13

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 7:30 P.M.

screenwriters showcase

Writers Guild of America Theater, 135 South Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills

14

SHOWCASE HOST MIKE WERB*

SPECIAL presentation dustin lance black*

A Los Angeles native, Mike Werb attended Stanford, where he majored in one thing after another. He put his costly education to use by joining a New Wave garage band that never left the garage. Turning to writing, he began a burlesque climb up the well-greased Hollywood ladder by entering the UCLA Master’s program in screenwriting. He has since worked for every major studio.

Mike’s big break was writing the screenplay for the Jim Carrey comedy “The Mask,” but he also embraces his other produced credits, including “Darkman 3: Die, Darkman, Die!” and the giant-rats-attack-a-college-campus epic “Gnaw: The Food of the Gods, Part 2.”

Mike co-wrote and co-produced (with Michael Colleary) the action-thriller “Face/Off,” directed by John Woo and starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The New York Times lauded the Oscar®-nominated film as “one of the 1,000 greatest movies of all time,” and “Face/Off” won the 1997 Best Screenplay statuette at the 24th annual Saturn Awards.

More recent accomplishments include being one of six credited screenwriters on “Lara Croft, Tomb: Raider,” starring Angelina Jolie, and the WB’s flashy flop TV series “Tarzan,” starring Travis Fimmel’s abs. Werb and Colleary also worked intimately with Arnold Schwarzenegger on “Collateral Damage,” his last major motion picture before becoming Governor of California.

2006-7 film credits include the well-reviewed animated hit “Curious George” (Universal/ Imagine) and the vastly underrated “Firehouse Dog” (New Regency/Fox).

Mike created and executive produced Cartoon Network’s first live action series “Unnatural History,” which aired in the summer of 2010 for Warner Horizons Television.

Currently, Werb & Colleary are developing the action comedy “Sunset Rising” with producer Larry Mark (“Dream Girls,” “Julie and Julia”).

Mike is a nominating-committee member of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, an active member of the Writer’s Guild of America as well as the writers’ branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Dustin Lance Black is a screenwriter, producer and director, having won the Academy Award® and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Milk,” the biopic of the late gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk starring Sean Penn.

An honors graduate of TFT, Black began his career as an art director and quickly transitioned to directing documentaries, television series, commercials and music videos. His documentaries, “On the Bus” (2001) and “My Life With Count Dracula” (2003), led to a successful stint producing and directing TLC´s and BBC´s hit program “Faking It.” In 2004, Black signed on to draw on his devout Mormon childhood experiences as a writer and co-producer on HBO´s Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominated polygamist drama “Big Love.” He continued to write for the show until the third season wrapped in 2008. He also penned the screenplay for “Pedro,” the first scripted project from Bunim-Murray Productions about the life and legacy of famed openly gay, HIV positive “Real World” cast member Pedro Zamora. The film premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and earned Mr. Black his second WGA Award nomination. Recently, Black completed his feature directorial debut “Virginia,” starring Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris, and has teamed up with director Clint Eastwood and actor Leonardo DiCaprio on “J.Edgar,” the story of famed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

Beyond his film work, Black is also a civil rights activist. He is a founding board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), which is leading the Federal Case against Prop 8 in CA with lawyers David Boise and Ted Olson, and is on the Board of the Trevor Project, a teen suicide hotline providing crisis intervention for LGBTQ youth.

Since winning the Oscar® in 2009, Black has been on an equal rights speaking tour across the country, and was one of a handful of organizers of the LGBTQ March on Washington in October 2009, speaking to an audience of over 150,000 demonstrators in front of the Nation´s Capital.

Upcoming projects include “The Barefoot Bandit” for FOX, based on the true story of legendary burglar Colton Harris-Moore, and an adaptation of Jon Krakauer´s bestseller “Under the Banner of Heaven,” about two 1984 murders committed by Morman Fundamenalists.

*Alumni

*Alumni

lew and pamela hunter/jonathan and janice zakin chair in screenwriting

feature screenplay winner

feature screenplay winner

feature screenplay winner

feature screenplay winner

KURTIS ESTES

PAUL BERTINO

TAMARA CARTER

DEVIN FEARN

esteskurt@hotmail.coM

bertino@gmail.com

cartercreative@gmail.com

devincf@hotmail.com

Kurtis writes comedies. He moved to Los Angeles ten years ago from Lake Stevens, a small town north of Seattle with a total population of 28,900 people, which is also what Kurtis scored on his SATs.

Paul Bertino writes features and TV. He was born in northern California, where he was raised by humans. Paul earned a BA in Cinema from San Francisco State University. He recently graduated from UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting program and has just completed his 7th feature, a horror/ thriller called “Abandoned.” Paul also has a background in video game development and 3D computer animation. Awards: UCLA Showcase 2011 Feature Screenplay Winner, Astana Action Film Festival Screenplay Competition 2011 Finalist, Scriptapalooza Semi-Finalist for a halfhour comedy pilot 2010.

Residing in Los Angeles, by way of Brooklyn, New York, T. P. Carter (MFA Screenwriting ‘13) is a novelist, screenwriter and rising star in the film industry. After publishing bestselling novels “Behind Those Eyes” (2006) and “Lovestoned” (2007) for Kensington Books at age 25, she’s penned a series of dramatic thrillers for film, and has worked in development for Sony Pictures Entertainment on films such as “Death at a Funeral,” “Takers” and “Resident Evil 4.”

She specializes in writing character driven action thrillers and adapting books to film.

Devin Fearn was born and raised in Carlsbad, CA and in the spirit of a true Californian he has never lived further than thirty minutes from the beach. He caught the writing bug while attending an undergrad class on John Carpenter’s films at UC Santa Cruz, leading him to write and produce his first feature film, “The Beginning,” in 2007. Since then he has focused on his passion for screenwriting by attending UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting program. He can often be found writing in the worlds of Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, among others, and hopes to write in both Features and Television. Devin was honored to receive 2nd place in the Samuel Goldwyn Awards in 2011.

H JUMPING SHIP (comedy) An uptight man tries to find love on a cruise ship after his girlfriend abandons him, but in order to do so, he must let go of his fears and jump ship.

H PLEASE DON’T FEED THE CHILDREN (horror/thriller) A band of on-the-run teenage orphans is taken in by a lonely woman offering them food and shelter, but the house they thought was a safe haven holds a dark secret they’ve all been running from.

H SINS OF THE FATHER (crime/thriller) A drug kingpin becomes a single parent of a little girl, one he’s determined to see live a better life than he has. After an FBI raid leaves them separated (he in Colombia and she in the US foster care system), she’s left to fend for herself in the tough Baltimore streets using the skills he taught her as a child. Eight years later, his enemies are back for revenge, and the estranged duo are reunited after an attempt to kill her goes sour. In order to stay alive, the two must kill the head of his cartel, while repairing their severed relationship along the way.

H WENDIGO (horror/western) During the frigid winter of 1918, Will Donlan, an aging alcoholic Sheriff of a Native American town must overcome his haunted past in order to save a young girl who’s been abducted by a supernatural Indian legend as it terrorizes the countryside.

screenwriters showcase

screenwriters SHOWCASE www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

15

feature screenplay winner

television pilot winner

television pilot winner

BARNETT BRETTLER

JIM McDERMOTT

JANIS ROBERTSON

MAGGIE MALONE

barnett.brettler@gmail.com

mcdsj@hotmail.com

janisrobertson@gmail.com

magmalicious@gmail.com

Barnett Brettler is a filmmaker born and raised in Long Island, New York. After graduating from Syracuse University in the profession, he has worked throughout New York City and Los Angeles in development, casting, producing, and directing. Barnett is currently attending UCLA, where he is earning a Masters Degree in Screenwriting. He continues to expand his directing portfolio, earning awards as festivals around the globe. His latest production, “Terminus,” is slated for a Spring, 2012 festival premiere.

Jim McDermott is a writer from the suburbs of Chicago. His hour long TV pilot “St. Perpetuua” was a finalist in Showcase last year. Another pilot, “Life,” won the 2011 William J. and Lee Philip Bell Young and the Restless UCLA fellowship. Before coming to UCLA Jim did magazine editing in New York and worked as an English teacher and bus driver on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. While pulling out of a gas station he once scratched his bus so badly the scratch stretched the entire length of the bus and cut completely through the steel. That year he was named “Bus Driver of the Year.” The award was a can opener. He wishes he was kidding.

Janis Robertson is a writer hailing from the mean streets of Southern California wine country.

Janis has written six features, a drama pilot, and numerous short stories. In another life, she worked for CG companies ILM and Blur Studio.

Currently working on her MFA in screenwriting from UCLA, she is also a graduate of the UCLA Professional Program in screenwriting.

Maggie originally hails from the shoreline of Connecticut and center city Philly, where she was raised by a novelist and an English professor.

No one in the Malone family can do math.

Maggie has worked in theater, film, animation and television for the past decade. Before that, she got a BA from Yale. She lives with her fiance Matt. He’s a director, but as a writer she doesn’t hold that against him. Their universe revolves around their yorkie Max. And whatever is playing at the Arclight.

screenwriters showcase

H VINEGAR HILL (indie/comedy) Three estranged siblings kidnap their mother’s ashes and set out on a cross-city race against time to bury her at their childhood home before it is torn down forever.

16

television pilot winner

www.tft.ucla.edu/ festival

H AFTER LIFE (drama) “After Life” is an hourlong drama about a father and a son trying to find one another after a plague wipes out most of the world’s population. Father Pete Lyons, fights to get out of the ruins of a quarantined Manhattan, while his 10-year-old diabetic son David travels across the country in search of him, believing, despite all evidence, that Pete is still alive.

H ORION (fantasy/drama) Bounty hunter Selene Pijara must learn how to be a mother to two orphaned children, while caught in the middle of the impending war between the monarchy and her estranged tribe in the mythical country of Kellcoda.

H PARADISE (drama) The story of Mose Troyer, an Amish farmer family man who must risk getting his whole family shunned from his tightknit community in order to solve the mysterious death of his brother-in-law which he is certain points to foul play that reaches beyond the world of the Amish. In order to do so, Mose must partner with an “English” or outsider—an old cop recently kicked off the rural Pennsylvania police force.

TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 7:30 P.M. The Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum, Westwood

Hosted by Channing Dungey*

Presented by Hawk Koch

Honoree: Gale Anne Hurd, Vision Award

HONOREE GALE ANNE HURD

Special Guest: Hawk Koch, Co-President, Producers Guild of America This highly anticipated annual event features four graduate students in the distinguished UCLA Producers Program, who will present their feature film projects to a panel of top-tier industry judges. These project presentations were vetted by industry professionals in March. During the Producers Marketplace, the finalists take the stage to present their projects in five-minute concept pitches, and they then field questions from the judges about their project and their financing strategy. The judges will select the most promising proposal for the UCLA Producers Marketplace Jury Award. The audience will also select its favorite pitch for the Marketplace Audience Award. These awards are accompanied by a generous cash donation funded by Producer/ Alumnus Dan Angel.

producers MARKETPLACE FINALISTS ALLISON AVERY “A Woman in the Shadows” JULIA FONTANA “Wise” GLENN LUND “Mister Kool” NICOLE STIER “Deepflight” Special Guest: Ashley Willits

Gale Anne Hurd is one of the entertainment industry’s most esteemed producers of Academy Award®-winning films and Emmy Award®-winning programs that shatter box office and ratings records. Hurd’s record-breaking AMC series, “The Walking Dead,” will begin airing its third season in October. Her company, Valhalla Entertainment, has an overall deal with Universal Cable Productions to develop new television and digital series, and her indie film, “Very Good Girls,” begins production in June. By continually selecting daring material, championing technological innovations, and remaining hands-on in her approach, Hurd has carved out a leading position in the previously maledominated world of the blockbuster, and has become a recognized creator of iconic cultural touchstones. After a successful rise from Roger Corman’s executive assistant to head of marketing at New World Pictures, Hurd’s production career launched when she produced and co-wrote “The Terminator.”

This success was quickly followed by “Aliens,” which received seven nominations and two Academy Awards®, and the Academy Award® winning films “The Abyss” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” Additional feature credits include the Academy Award® nominated “Armageddon,” “Hulk,” “Æon Flux,” “The Punisher,” “Punisher: War Zone,” the Academy Award® winning film “The Ghost and the Darkness,” “Dick” and “The Waterdance,” which won the Spirit Award for Best First Feature, and the Audience and Screenplay Awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

The Vision Award is given to a producer whose career is distinguished by the highest standards and whose body of work exemplifies quality, persistence and integrity.The Vision Award is presented by the Producers Guild of America and The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

Past Honorees Lawrence Bender (2011); Hawk Koch (2010); Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen (2009); Steve Golin (2008); Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa (2007); Cathy Schulman (2006); Mike Medavoy* (2005); Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, CW Productions (2004); Mark Gordon (2003) *Alumni

producers MARKETPLACE

producers marketplace

*Alumni

TFT–PGA Vision Award

17

TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 7:30 P.M.

producers marketplace

The Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum, Westwood

18

VISION AWARD PRESENTED BY HAWK KOCH

PRODUCERS MARKETPLACE HOST CHANNING DUNGEY*

Hawk Koch is the Co-President of the Producers Guild of America, First Vice President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and is on the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Koch has been producing films for over thirty years. Among his motion picture credits are “Heaven Can Wait” (for which he won a Golden Globe®), “Primal Fear,” “Wayne’s World,” “Pope of Greenwich Village,” “Frequency,” “Fracture,” “The Idol Maker” and the recently released “Source Code.”

Koch also served as the president of Rastar Productions, Inc., where he oversaw the productions of “Peggy Sue Got Married,” “Nothing in Common” and “The Secret of My Success,” among others.

At the start of his career, he was a jack-of-all-trades serving in such capacities as dialogue coach, second unit director and first assistant director, working alongside Sydney Pollack, Alan Pakula, Hal Wallis, William Castle, Roman Polanski, John Schlesinger and Paul Mazursky on such legendary films as “Chinatown,” “Marathon Man,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” “The Way We Were,” “The Odd Couple,” “Barefoot in the Park” and “The Parallax View.”

Channing Dungey was named senior vice president, Drama Development, ABC Entertainment Group, in June 2009. In this position she oversees the development and production of all drama pilots and the launch of new series for ABC Entertainment. Series developed and launched under her watch include “Revenge,” “Once Upon A Time,” “Scandal” and “Body of Proof.”

Prior to that, Ms. Dungey was senior vice president, Drama Development, ABC Studios. In that role she was responsible for the development and acquisition of drama programming for the studio, which created international hit franchises “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Her slate of programming included “Private Practice,” “Criminal Minds,” The CW’s “Reaper” and Lifetime’s highest rated series, “Army Wives.”

Ms. Dungey began her successful career as a development assistant for Davis Entertainment at 20th Century Fox. She then became story editor at Steamroller Productions, Steven Seagal’s Warner Bros-based company, production executive at Warner Bros. and a senior vice president at Material, a film production company. After being named president in 2001, Ms. Dungey co-produced three films that were released in the spring of 2002: “Queen of the Damned,” “Showtime” and “The Big Bounce.”

Ms. Dungey is a founding member of the Step Up Women’s Network, a national non-profit membership organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls. She also teaches a graduate level course on Developing the Drama in the UCLA Producer’s Program. *Alumna

producers MARKETPLACE

producers marketplace judge mark gill

producers marketplace judge lynette howell

James L. Brooks is a three-time Academy Award®-winner and nineteen-time Emmy Award®-winner. He began his television career as a writer and went on to produce hits such as “Taxi,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Lou Grant,” “Room 222, “ “The Tracy Ullman Show,” and “The Simpsons.”

Brooks began working in film in 1979 when he wrote the screenplay for “Starting Over” which he co-produced with Alan J. Pakula directing. In 1983, Brooks wrote, produced and directed “Terms of Endearment” for which he earned three Academy Awards®. In 1987, he wrote, produced and directed “Broadcast News” which won the New York Dramas Critics Award for best picture and best screenplay. Through Gracie Films, Brooks executive produced the feature film “Say Anything,” produced “War of the Roses” and co-produced “Big” with Robert Greenhut.

In 1990, he produced and directed his first play, “Brooklyn Laundry,” a Los Angeles production starring Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern.

In 1996, he executive-produced the film “Bottle Rocket,” directed by Wes Anderson, for Columbia Pictures and produced Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire,” starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renee Zellweger. In 1997, Brooks co-wrote, produced, and directed “As Good As It Gets,” starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear. The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, and both Nicholson and Hunt won Oscars® for their performances.

Brooks most recent films as a writer and director were “Spanglish,” starring Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni and Paz Vega, and “How Do You Know,” which he wrote and directed, starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson. In 2001, Brooks produced the film “Riding in Cars with Boys,” starring Drew Barrymore and directed by Penny Marshall. He also executive produced the ABC series, “What About Joan,” starring Joan Cusack.

In July 2007 Brooks co-wrote and produced “The Simpsons Movie,” the movie version of the Fox hit.

Former Miramax Films and Warner Independent president Mark Gill was named President of Millennium Films in July 2011, with particular focus on development, packaging, production and marketing. Gill has 25 years of film business experience and a production track record of more than $1 billion at the box office.

He most recently was the CEO and co-founder of The Film Department, which produced the worldwide hit “Law-Abiding Citizen.” In the three years prior he served as the founding president of Warner Independent Pictures, producing 15 films and earning 11 Oscar® nominations, notably for “March of the Penguins” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

Gill previously spent eight years as president of Miramax/L.A, involved in the production or acquisition of more than two dozen films, including “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Central Station,” “In the Bedroom,” “Amelie,” “Frida” and “City of God.” He joined Miramax in 1994 as the company’s marketing chief, working on such films as “Pulp Fiction,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Life is Beautiful” and “Shakespeare in Love.”

Before joining Miramax, Gill worked for six years at Columbia and TriStar Pictures, culminating in a three-year tenure as Senior Vice President in the marketing department. Prior to joining Columbia, he worked for nearly four years at Rogers & Cowan, the publicity agency. Before that, he served as a general assignment reporter for “Newsweek” and the “Los Angeles Times.”

Lynette Howell most recently ventured with longtime producing partner, Jamie Patricof, in launching Electric City Entertainment, a filmmakerdriven production company. They are currently in post-production on Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond the Pines,” starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes, which will be the first film under Electric City’s banner. Lynette also completed Matt Ross’s directorial debut “28 Hotel Rooms” starring Chris Messina and Marin Ireland, which had its world premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and will be released by Oscilloscope later this year.

She recently produced “Blue Valentine” directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in performances that garnered Golden Globe® nominations for both actors and an Oscar® nomination for Michelle. Other movies Lynette produced last year include “Silent House,” “Shark Night 3D,” “Terri,” “On The Ice” and “The Space Between.”

Lynette’s previous films include: “Half Nelson,” directed by Ryan Fleck and starring Ryan Gosling in a performance which garnered him a Best Actor Oscar® nomination; “Stephanie Daley,” “The Passage,” “Phoebe In Wonderland,” “An Invisible Sign of My Own” and “The Greatest.”Lynette is an advisor to the Sundance Creative Producing Initiative and Film Independents Producers Lab. In 2007, Lynette was named in Variety’s “Ten Producers to Watch” list. Originally from Liverpool, England, Lynette began her career in London theatre.

producers marketplace

producers marketplace judge james l. brooks

19

producers marketplace

marketplace finalist

20

marketplace finalist

marketplace finalist

marketplace finalist

ALLISON AVERY

julia fontana

glen lund

NICOLE STIER

allisonavery@yahoo.com (361) 537-0923

iuliafontana@ucla.edu (917) 714-7021

lundglenn@gmail.com

nicole.stier@gmail.com (413) 522-6152

As someone with a love of telling people’s stories, Allison Avery attained an undergraduate degree in journalism at the University of Texas.

Following graduation, she worked at a national magazine for several years before switching paths and entering the world of film and television. Allison is currently a graduate student in UCLA’s Producers Program and will receive her MFA in June of this year. After interning with companies ranging from a broadcast network to a mini-major studio, Allison found her home in independent film, where she can pursue her passion for character-driven dramas and comedies.

Julia Fontana is a writer and producer based in Los Angeles. She obtained her BA in Audiovisual Communication from Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain) in 2007 and went on to work as a development executive, story editor and head of development on several European features. In 2010, she won a Fulbright scholarship that allowed her to pursue the Producers Program MFA at UCLA. Julia has written and produced several award-winning short films and has recently sold her first feature screenplay.

She makes a living as a freelance script editor and plans to find a stable job after graduating in June 2012.

H A WOMAN IN THE SHADOWS Fritz Lang and his screenwriter and wife, Thea von Harbou, are living the perfect life together in Berlin, but when the Nazis take power in 1933, the couple is put under surveillance and a dark secret Thea has kept hidden from everyone is uncovered and she is forced her to make a choice between her husband’s life or her own.

www.tft.ucla.edu/ festival

H wise (crime drama) After a legendary mafia boss dies, his daughter, who has long been working for the family from behind the scenes, fights a male-driven world to take the credit she deserves, establishing herself as the new capo.

Glenn Lund’s most recent film, “Bekas,” was shot in Iraq, and went on to win numerous awards including a Student Academy Award in 2011. The success helped secure $2.7M to shoot a feature version which is currently in post-production. Before moving to the US, Lund ran the Swedish production company Manaña Film where he produced two features, a few documentaries and many shorts. He produced his first feature film, “The Blueberry War,” on a $1M budget, when he was 22 years old. The film was released wide in Sweden in 2007. Glenn is taking his MFA at the UCLA Producers Program and holds a BA in producing from Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts.

H mister kool A comedy about an alcoholic ice cream man and his impotent anal neighbor stealing illegal racehorse sperm from the mafia.

Growing up in the country, Nicole enjoyed an imaginative freedom that breeds in a small town environment and produces a rich source for storytelling. While attending Babson College, she developed a taste for entrepreneurship and began working as an independent Marketing Consultant. Since being accepted into the Producer’s program, Nicole has applied those business and creative passions to several short films. Additionally, she has held internship positions with the motion picture departments at DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox. She hopes to continue working for studios to create compelling narratives that appeal to a broad audience.

H DEEPFlIGHT (Suki Kaiser, writer) A brilliant scientist and former submarine captain must embark on an epic adventure to the uncharted depths of the deep sea to face an unknown entity that is destroying the ocean.

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 7:30 P.M. Director’s Guild of America Theatre, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles

Directors Showcase Host: Todd Holland*, Producer/Director Honoree: Alexander Payne*, Filmmaker of the Year Honoree: Harvey Weinstein, Champion Spirit Award Also presented: The Panavision Award in Cinematography Special Guest: Shailene Woodley

BLUE RIBBON PANEL OF JUDGES Marie Cantin, Producer Cotty Chubb, Producer David Gale, Producer Lesli Glatter, Director Amy Jones, Screenwriter Michael Miner*, Screenwriter John Nein*, Senior Programmer Sundance Film Festival Kevin Tent, Editor Frank Wuliger, Agent *Alumni

Directors Showcase is an evening for selected student filmmakers to present their work. The films seen this evening have been chosen through a series of individual panels consisting of students and industry professionals after viewing many hours of animated, fiction and documentary work completed this year. Students in the animation and production/directing program both graduate and undergraduate met and viewed over 18 hours of projects on April 30, May 6 and May 7. They recommended over 3 hours of projects to move to a Blue Ribbon Panel who met the evening of May 12 to view the finalists and determine the Spotlight Award-winning films seen this evening.

The Directors Showcase night offers outstanding talent and since its inception more than two decades ago our Festival has helped launch the careers of talented filmmakers such as Patricia Cardoso MFA ’94 (“Real Women Have Curves”), Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”), Gore Verbinski ’87 (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Gil Kenan MFA ’02 (“Monster House”), Justin Lin ’95 (“Fast Five”), Shane Acker MA ’98, MFA ’04 (“9”) and Alexander Payne MFA ’90 (“The Descendants”).

spotlight award winners’ Film Screenings BORN TO DANCE THIS WAY (11:40) Directed by Jerell Rosales CHOCOLATE MILK (9:18) Directed by Eliza Kinkz DETRAS DEL ESPEJO/Behind the mirror (12:00) Directed by Julio O. Ramos

I FEEL STUPID (15:00) Directed by Milena Pastreich DOG MEET GOOSE (21:00) Directed by Jonathan Crawford JEFF THE ROBOT (2:08) Directed by Adam Holmes 88 MILES TO MOSCOW (20:00) Directed by Karen Glienke THE SECRET LIFE OF SHIRTS (1:32) Directed by Eric Leppo

directors showcase

Directors showcase

21

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 7:30 P.M. Director’s Guild of America Theatre, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles

Honoree HARVEY WEINSTEIN

CHAMPION SPIRIT AWARD WINNER Harvey Weinstein launched The Weinstein Company, a multi-media company, with his brother Bob on October 1st, 2005. Since its launch, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as: “Grindhouse,” “1408,” “I’m Not There,” “The Mist,” “The Great Debaters,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “The Reader” “The Road,” “Clerks II,” “Factory Girl,” “Halloween,” “A Single Man,” “The Tillman Story,” “Piranha 3D,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Blue Valentine,”last year’s Academy Award® winner for Best Picture, “The King’s Speech” and this year’s Academy Award® winner for Best Picture, “The Artist.”

Harvey Weinstein founded Miramax Films in 1979 with his brother Bob, naming the company after their parents, Miriam and Max. Under Harvey and Bob’s leadership, Miramax Films released some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful independent feature films, including sixteen Best Picture nominations over a span of sixteen years: “The Aviator,” “Finding Neverland,” “Chicago,” “Gangs of New York,” “In the Bedroom,” “Chocolat,” “The Cider House Rules,” “Shakespeare In Love,” “Life Is Beautiful” (“La Vita É Bella”), “Good Will Hunting,” “The English Patient,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Il Postino (The Postman),” “The Piano,” “The Crying Game” and “My Left Foot,” as well as a Best Picture nomination for “The Hours,” which was a co-production. The outstanding quality of Miramax’s films under the Weinsteins’ leadership was represented in the company’s success in the annual Academy Awards® race.

During Harvey and Bob’s tenure at Miramax and The Weinstein Company, they have received 303 Oscar® nominations and won 75 Academy Awards®.

The distinguished Champion Spirit Award, created in 2010, recognizes a person in the entertainment industry who has courage, integrity, insight and inspiration and is dedicated to fostering and nurturing emerging talent.

Past winners

directors showcase

Stacy Snider (2011), Roger Corman (2010)

22

Directors showcase

Presented by Shailene Woodley

Honoree Alexander Payne* FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR

Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Alexander Payne earned his MFA in Film at UCLA in 1990. He made his feature film debut with “Citizen Ruth” (1996) and followed up with “Election” (1999), which won Best Screenplay from the Writers’ Guild of America and the New York Film Critics Circle, as well as an Oscar® nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. “About Schmidt” (2002), premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and opened the New York Film Festival. Both “Sideways” (2004) and his latest film, “The Descendants” (2011), won Oscars® for Best Adapted Screenplay and were nominated for four others, including Best Picture and Best Director.

The Filmmaker of the Year award honors filmmakers who tell stories with a voice and vision that impact the way people look at the human condition and demonstrates the spirit and message of the independent filmmaker.

Past Honorees Lisa Cholodenko (2011), Lee Daniels (2010), Gina Prince-Bythewood* (2009), Daniel Attias* (2008), Jonathan Dayton* and Valerie Faris* (2007), Paul Schrader* (2006), Brad Silberling* (2005), Gore Verbinski* (2004), Catherine Hardwicke* (2004), Patricia Cardoso* (2003), Todd Holland* (2002), Penelope Spheeris* (2001), Alexander Payne* (2000) *Alumni

directors showcase

23

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 7:30 P.M. Director’s Guild of America Theatre, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles

directors showcase host todd holland*

Filmmaker of the Year award presented by SHAILENE WOODLEY

Todd Holland has directed three feature films, more than 150 episodes of television and has been honored with three Emmy Awards®, five CableAce Awards, eight Emmy® nominations, a DGA award and six nominations, and a WGA nomination. As a producer/director, he was a key creative force behind “The Larry Sanders Show,” and the critically acclaimed “Wonderfalls” which he co-created, directed and executive produced. When Holland first read the pilot script for “Malcolm in the Middle” he envisioned a smart Warner Bros. cartoon from the 50’s, ripe with odd characters, social consciousness and heart. And it struck a chord with critics and audiences alike as it became one of America’s most lauded and popular series and earned a seven year run. He co-executive produced and directed much of the series itself, including the pilot episode which earned him an Emmy Award®.

His episodic work spans the gamut of genres from “Twin Peaks” and “My So-Called Life” to “Shameless,” and from “Tales from the Crypt” to “Friends” and “30 Rock.” Through his Dark Toy Entertainment shingle based at Universal, he is currently executive producing and directing the NBC comedy, “Go On,” starring Matthew Perry premiering Fall 2012.

Shailene Woodley most recently starred opposite George Clooney in Academy Award® nominated film The Descendants from writer/ director Alexander Payne. Among the many accolades she received for her work in the film were a 2012 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress, the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting actress, a Golden Globe® nomination and a Critics Choice award nomination. Variety said of her performance, “Woodley is a revelation in the role of Alex, displaying both the edge and the depth that the role demands.” A.O. Scott of the New York Times agreed saying Woodley gives, “one of the toughest, smartest, most credible adolescent performances in recent memory.” Woodley also stars on the record breaking hit series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” on ABC Family. Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker said, “Woodley is utterly beguiling: an anti-Gossip Girl. Like a great silent film actress, she has a face that conveys shades of anguish and joy. “ For her work on the series she has been nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

When she is not on set Woodley spends as much time outdoors as possible thinking of ways she can help keep the environment beautiful and healthy for future generations. She has started a charitable organization called All It Takes, which is dedicated to all things that help the environment and people’s lives in general. She also puts time in working with various charities that benefit children including St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.

directors showcase

*Alumni

24

Directors showcase

spotlight award winner

spotlight award winner

Panavision Award in Cinematography Recipient MILENA PASTREICH Milena Pastreich lives in Los Angeles where she shoots and directs films. She was born in San Francisco. With an Art History degree from NYU and a background in documentary photography, she began her filmmaking career while living in Berlin from 2004 to 2007. She received her MFA from UCLA for Production/ Directing in 2012 and is a candidate for an MFA in Cinematography. Milena has been the Director of Photography of many documentary, narrative, and experimental shorts, music videos, and the feature length film, Y. Her cinematography work has screened at many festivals, including her Spotlight Award-winning “The Ballad of Finn + Yeti,” featured at the 2012 Festival de Cannes, Cinéfondation.

The Panavision New Filmmaker Package Grant is awarded to a student cinematographer for outstanding work. Valued at approximately $60,000, the grant will provide a complete camera package to be used by the recipient for the production of their next project. The grant winner is selected by a vote of student peers who have reviewed all films submitted to the UCLA/TFT Film Festival.

KAREN GLIENKE

JERELL ROSALES

karenglie@gmail.com

(310) 617-2035 rosalesjerell@gmail.com www.jerellrosales.com

Born and raised in Chicago, Karen Glienke graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in Geography. After moving to Los Angeles, she worked as a Research Project Manager in Gerontology at UCLA, and later became a middle school English teacher in LAUSD. Her first film was the 2005 award-winning documentary “Punk Wall,” which led to her pursuing a masters degree in film directing at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. Opening up to fiction filmmaking, her narrative directing credits include the shorts “Orbiting” and previous Spotlight Winner “Wild Like Ego,” which also won the Best Director (Short Film) award at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival in 2009.

“88 Miles to Moscow” is Karen’s graduate thesis film. Her work explores family dynamics, comingof-age struggles and relationships through characters, young and old, with different and often clashing cultural backgrounds. Karen lives in Hollywood with her son, Miles.

H BORN TO DANCE THIS WAY (11:40) Joo Si—fierce, fabulous…and overweight—auditions for the opportunity of a lifetime: to be a principal backup dancer for the sexy female pop singing sensation, THE 4PLAY LADIES.

www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

directors showcase

H 88 miles to moscow (20:00) 15-year-old Niki tells her very curious mom about a trip she just took with dad, but somehow fails to mention getting stranded n the middle of nowhere after missing the train, and finding her way back with the help of a young Russain garbage man.

Jerell Rosales is a Filipino-American filmmaker. A “military brat,” Jerell comes from Moreno Valley, CA, Yokota USAFB, Japan, and Dayton, Ohio. He grew up in the MTV late 90’s early 2000’s generation, where he finds inspiration and influence from the days when P.Diddy was still Puff Daddy, Britney lip-synced and nobody cared, and everyone danced like it’s 1999 with no shame whatsoever. A transfer from Cal State Fullerton, Jerell was the co-coordinator of Friendship Games 2010, the 25th Anniversary—the largest student-run Filipino-American event in the nation. Jerell was also a proud former dancer and executive director of the Infinite PASAbilities Hip-Hop dance team which led to the inspiration to his UCLA undergraduate thesis film—a dance comedy—”Born to Dance this Way.”

25

spotlight award winner

spotlight award winner

spotlight award winner

ELIZA KINKZ

JULIO O. RAMOS

JONATHAN CRAWFORD

MILENA PASTREICH

cookie@elizakinkz.com

andinofilms@gmail.com

jonbcrawford@ucla.edu (310) 560-8621

Eliza Kinkz always wanted to live inside an ice cream cone. But, since wool scarfs make her itchy, she settled on being a Animator/Illustrator in San Francisco. Her thesis film “Chocolate Milk” is based on her experiences as a teenager in a Texas Drug Rehab and is a national finalist for the Student Academy Awards. Eliza loves pushing the boundaries of animation and has worked on television shows like “Robot Chicken”, and “Making Fiends.” Currently, she is developing a children’s book when not lurking in seedy cheese shops.

A native of Lima, Peru, Julio O. Ramos is a student DGA and student Emmy® award winner for his films “El Bolerito” (“The Shoe Shiner”) and “¡Una Carrerita, Doctor!” (“A Doctor’s Job”), both produced at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where Julio pursues his MFA in film directing. “¡Una Carrerita, Doctor!” (“A Doctor’s Job”) is Julio’s first narrative project shot in his homeland, and besides earning numerous awards, it has screened at over 300 venues world wide, including world-class film festivals Telluride, Habana, Huesca, Vancouver and Shanghai. “Detrás Del Espejo” (“Behind the Mirrors”) is Julio’s latest film and his graduating thesis project. An official selection of the Guadalajara Film Festival and the Palm Springs Shortfest, this film is an excerpt of a feature film that Julio is currently developing.

milena.pastreich@gmail.com www.milenapastreich.com (310) 990-8810

directors showcase

H CHOCOLATE MILK (9:18) Chocolate Milk is the #1 goal. At least, that is what the Rehab informs the teenage Izzy as she enters for drug treatment. If she follows all their rules, then she can have chocolate milk. But why would she want some lame beverage, when she’s got pogoballs, monster trucks and a best friend with a silverware fetish to keep her busy. A humorous and bittersweet teenage odyssey of coming to grips with addiction and trying to get through life without letting the current pull you under.

26

spotlight award winner

H DETRÁS DEL ESPEJO / BEHIND THE MIRRORS (12:00) A sleazy motel’s janitor resorts to a despicable way to make ends meet.

One day, the death of a guest compromises his underground business.

Jon grew up in Arkansas where he received a B.A. in English Literature from Hendrix College. He directed Pink Houses, an award winning feature documentary, before moving to San Francisco to study experimental film. Currently he is pursing his MFA at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. “Tell Me A Memory,” his first year film was an official selection of over thirty film festivals including Frameline. His second year film, “Foot Soldier,” was made in Arkansas where he also directed “Leveling the Playing Field,” a short documentary for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Jon is a two time Carl David Memorial Award winner, a recipient of the Edie & Lew Wasserman Production Fellowship, a Point Scholar finalist and a Four Sisters Scholarship winner. His feature script “Hard Rabbit” is receiving industry praise as he develops the feature version of his thesis film “Dog Meet Goose.”

H DOG MEET GOOSE (21:00) A troubled boy seeks help from a neighbor with a secret.

Milena Pastreich lives in Los Angeles where she directs and shoots films. She was born in San Francisco. With an Art History degree from NYU and a background in documentary photography, she began her filmmaking career while living in Berlin from 2004 to 2007. She received her MFA from UCLA for Production/ Directing in 2012 and is a candidate for an MFA in Cinematography.

Milena has directed commercial work, music videos, and a number of short narrative films, including “Stuck to Play,” “Mushroom Hunt,” ”Jean-Paul Luc Sébastien René” and “I Feel Stupid.” They have played at several film festivals, including South by Southwest. She is currently making “Rollers,” a feature length documentary about inner-city men who are kept off the streets through their dedication to pigeons that do flips in the air. In addition, Milena has been the Director of Photography of many documentary, narrative, and experimental shorts, music videos, and the feature length film “Y.” Her cinematography work has screened at many festivals including, recently, “The Ballad of Finn + Yeti” at the 2012 Festival de Cannes, Cinéfondation.

H I FEEL STUPID (15:00) Lein, an awkward inexperienced 15 year-old, is confronted with a sexually charged reality when Amber steps into the picture.

www.tft.ucla.edu/ festival

spotlight award winner

spotlight award winner

spotlight award winner

spotlight award winner

ADAM HOLMES

CORY MILLER

SIMON SAVELYEV

ERIC LEPPO

(214) 213-6139 adampholmes@gmail.com

millercory1@gmail.com (610) 613-0921

simonsavelyev@hotmail.com (617) 840-0374

ericleppo@gmail.com (415) 480-4917

Coming from a background in advertising, Adam decided to pursue film-making after his animated film won a company film festival at the agency he worked for. Since then, he has written, directed and animated two short films, “Hot Diggity Dog” and “Jeff the Robot.” In addition to his animated work, he has dedicated what’s left of his spare time to being a student representative and a teaching assistant for the advanced computer animation class. He is currently working on his thesis film.

Cory Miller spent four years in New York City investigating complaints against the NYPD for the New York City government. His job took him all over the city and exposed him to hundreds of stories involving corruption, excessive force, police shootings, and the best and worst of the NYPD and New York’s citizens. This experience forms the basis for many of the stories that Cory tells. He’s written a number of feature screenplays and teleplays, and is a recent graduate of UCLA’s MFA Directing program.

Simon was born and raised in Massachusetts.

After graduating from Boston College with an English degree, he worked for several years in finance and advertising before applying to film school. Now a second-year grad student in the film production program at TFT, Simon is interested in writing and directing comedies.

“Marginal Superheroes” was his first-year project at film school.

Eric Leppo was raised in the warm glow of a vintage zenith A6533w wood panel television set in Kent, Ohio. At 18 he bid the farm farewell to attend U.C. Berkeley, earning degrees in English and Art. After several years of San Francisco start-ups, he wised up, returned to making films and couldn’t be happier.

H JEFF THE ROBOT (2:08) Jeff is curious about nature.

H JUST ONE LOOK (20:00) Detective Jimmy Martino needs to make a gun arrest. Chris Watson needs tickets to the Jill Scott concert.

The film follows both of their quests until they intersect in a violent and unexpected street encounter.

H THE SECRET LIFE OF SHIRTS (1:15) A man, a chicken and a shirt share a special connection.

H MARGINAL SUPERHEROES (2:08) A mockumentary about publicly-funded superheroes struggling to survive amid budget cuts and an indifferent public.

directors showcase

www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

27

MASTER class with

moresco

In a special Master Class called “Filmmaking Intensive,” Academy Award® winning writer, producer, and director Bobby Moresco brought together students from several of the creative disciplines— including Second Year MFA actors, Screenwriters, Directors, Producers, Cinematographers, Production Designers, and Costume Designers—in an effort to create five original short films. Over the course of 11 weeks in the Spring, the students developed, workshopped, shot, and edited the films, based on concepts and scripts submitted to a committee of professors and industry professionals.

Director Jon Crawford Writer Felischa Marye Producer Tatenda Mbudzi, Adam Barrow Production Designer Ani Babayan Costume Designer Caitlin Doolittle

Insomnia

Actors Philicia Saunders Will Hickman Evan Lipkin

Actors Adrienne Hertler Brian West

DP Jason Knutzen Producers Jesse Maiman Lisa Vangellow Set design Patrick Scalise

moresco section

Actors Mary Beth Menna Evan Isaac Lipkin Bryan Patrick West

BORN TO KILL

Director Lucas Mireles

28

ON YOUR KNEES

writer Jeffrey Baker director Brynach Day production designer Desirae Hepp producers LA Ross Hilary Zaitz

MASTER OF FINE ARTS ACTING CLASS OF 2012 The Master of Fine Arts in Acting program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television is a comprehensive three-year course of study that prepares actors to work professionally in all media, genres and styles of performance. At UCLA, practical experience is paramount. Students complete a variety of performance projects, including a full repertory season and the opportunity to act in a professionally written and directed film. Produced by the Theater Department, this film is a unique aspect of UCLA’s program, which provides students with practical camera experience both in a studio and on location.

BRYAN CHESTERS

(757) 532-3863 Dramafiend@aol.com http://uclamfa2012.com/anne-butler

(818) 679-7881 info@BryanChesters.com www.BryanChesters.com

Anne Elizabeth Butler, a 2012 graduate of UCLA’s MFA-Acting program, earned her BA in theater from Duke University (NC) and trained at The American Conservatory Theater. She began her professional career as an actor/singer at The Barter Theatre in Virginia (the second oldest regional theater in the US), where she performed in fifteen productions before taking on additional dramatic, musical, and touring contracts in NC, SC and NH. Favorite roles include Ophelia in “Hamlet,” Beth in “Little Women The Musical” and Actress 3 in “The Dining Room.” While at UCLA, Anne gained valuable training in theatrical and film acting, studying with Mel Shapiro, Gulu Monteiro, Jean-Louis Rodrigue, Linda Kerns, Salome Jens, Bobby Moresco, the late Gil Cates, et al. Los Angeles production work has included short films, a 1920s-era play directed

by J. Ed Araiza (of NYC’s SITI Company) and a leading musical theater role at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Currently, Anne is rehearsing the role of Alma in Tennessee Williams’ “Summer and Smoke” and, this Fall, she will perform in a series of new works at The Broad Stage. Anne is excited to pursue any and all opportunities in film, TV, theater and musical theater!

Bryan Chesters grew up in the Midwestern suburbs of Chicago, IL. He has performed on stage and screen in Chicago, NYC and Los Angeles. He received both his BA (Music) and MFA (Theater) from UCLA. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he is a company member of the prestigious Pacific Resident Theater in Venice, CA. He has performed on: Broadway Tours (“Sunset Boulevard,” first national company, “42nd Street,” first European company) as well as acting in plays by Shakespeare (“Hamlet”), Williams (“The Glass Menagerie”) and Chekhov (“The Cherry Orchard”), to name a few. Some of his favorite roles include Eddie in “Hurly Burly”, Charles in “The Clean House” and Kevin in the World Premiere of “St. Elmo’s Fire.” A true triple threat, he has played the Gene Kelly role in “Singin’ In The Rain” at two different regional theaters (Artpark-NY, Glendale Center Theater, CA). Recently he has acted in two dramatic short films that were supervised by Oscar® Winner Bobby Moresco (“Crash”) as well as appearing in a period film shot in Virginia with veteran actor Hans Howe (“There Will Be Blood”).

www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

actors

MFA ACTORS

ANNE ELIZABETH BUTLER

29

JOSEPHINE KEEFE

ADAM MONDSCHEIN

JEREMIAH O’BRIAN

(310) 283-2776 LaurDunagan@gmail.com

(509) 768-5794 JosephineKeefe@hotmail.com

(818) 455-7371 adam.mondschein@gmail.com

(562) 900-4877 jeremiahs_mail@yahoo.com www.jeremiahobrian.com

Lauren Dunagan grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and received her BA in Acting from Stanford University. While in college, she took time off to return to her hometown and play her favorite Shakespearian heroines on stage, and also to travel to Senegal to study West African theater.

After graduating with distinction and receiving the Eleanor Prosser award for Academic Excellence in Drama, Lauren moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as an assistant kindergarten teacher by day and made theater by night.

During this time she earned her Equity card and became a member of the Syzygy Theatre Group.

She has spent the past three years as a student in UCLA’s MFA Acting program, undergoing intensive training and playing roles as diverse as Ophelia in “Hamlet” and a child soldier in “Forgotten World.” She also developed a passion for film during her time at UCLA, which she plans to pursue after graduating in June.

Josephine Keefe has been working in theatre since the age of nine. Josephine moved out to Los Angeles directly following graduation from DePaul’s Theatre School in Chicago, Illinois where she received her BFA in Acting. Projects post BFA graduation have been a stage reading of the play “The Sinker” at Moving Arts Studio, a stage reading of “Good Worker” at the Kennedy Center Regional Theatre Festival in Milwaukee, “Wi - A Grand Guignol Children’s Show” at the Art/Works Theater and “The Adding Machine” at the Freud Playhouse. Film credits include Bella in the YouTube spoof “Newer Moon,” Jo in “The Weekender,” the Waitress in “Funny Thing Is” and “So the One.”

Adam Mondschein graduated from the University of Maryland’s BFA acting program and is proud to be an MFA candidate at UCLA. He has acted on stages around the world and recently received a full scholarship at the British American Drama Academy’s Midsummer in Oxford Acting program and for A Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training at the Guthrie Theatre in Minnesota.

Deeply passionate about bringing the words of the Bard to life, he has had the honor of playing significant roles with numerous Shakespeare companies across the country.

actors

LAUREN DUNAGAN

30

www.tft.ucla.edu/ festival

Jeremiah O’Brian has had the privilege of training with the industry’s leading professionals, such as Mel Shapiro, Jean-Louis Rodrigue, Alfred Molina, Rainn Wilson and the late great Gil Cates. Jeremiah has been a recipient of a full scholarship to The Guthrie Theater and the Executive Board Fellowship Award at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He has conceived, written and performed his thesis play about Father Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries in East LA, where he also tutors Homies fresh out of prison and making a new lives for themselves.

Most recently, he was cast as the Denzel Washington role in “Antwone Fisher: A Play” based on the movie of the same name. Jeremiah grew up in the Compton/Long Beach area, has worked in the fire service and gone from homeless in Compton to a Master’s degree at UCLA. Striving to be a success story, Jeremiah hopes to pay it forward to others from similar communities, who may not always have advantages, but work to create them.

COLIN SIMON

MATTHEW WRATHER

DASH YOU

(760) 420-9984 aguacowboy@gmail.com

(310) 496-6541 matt@matthewwrather.com www.matthewwrather.com

(424) 202-1051 ds8420@hotmail.com

Colin is a vibrant and adventurous actor and impassioned artist. He enjoys risks and jumping in head first. Imagination, commitment, and determination are his strongest attributes. There may be literally nothing he won’t do in his pursuit of character.

Matthew Wrather (SAG-AFTRA/AEA) is an actor whose career began as a child in his native Los Angeles and spans two decades and three continents. Matt appeared alongside Sam Waterston in “Travesties” at Long Wharf Theater and alongside Ed Asner in the short film “The Raft.” Additional film credits include the title character in Lucas Mirelles’s black comedy “A Bad Person” and a would-be terrorist with pangs of conscience in Iris Hefler’s “Brother’s Keeper,” produced by Academy Award®-winner Bobby Moresco. Stage work includes Lt. Charles in “The Adding Machine,” directed by SITI Company’s J. Ed Araiza, and the initial reading of Paula Vogel’s “A Civil War Christmas,” directed by Tina Landau. In addition to his acting work, Matt is an accomplished singer, pianist, and composer, with two full-length musicals and dozens of musical theater songs to his credit. And he is founder and editor-in-chief of “Overthinking It,” a successful website for pop culture nerds. He holds a newly-minted MFA from UCLA—thanks for that, by the way!—and his BA from Yale.

Dash You was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. He moved to England at the age of 14 for his education and graduated from Millfield High School before going on to study Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London.

He graduated with B.A. in Media Arts in 2006 and returned to Korea to serve in the Korean Army for two years. When he was discharged in 2008 as a sergeant, he came to US to fulfill his passion towards acting. He recently completed his MFA in Acting at UCLA and has appeared in performances with The Company of Angels and at LA Downtown, called “LA Views V: April 29th, 1992.”

actors

www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

31

MASTER OF FINE ARTS PLAYWRITING CLASS OF 2012

playwrights

The Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting is a three-year program that trains and nurtures dramatists whose purpose is to transform the way we see and understand the world. In the first year, playwrights complete two short plays and a full length play. In the second year, playwrights complete a second full length play, a One Person play, and an additional writing project such as an adaptation for the stage or a screenplay. The third year typically includes an internship with a professional theater or film studio, or comparable environment.

Typically, student written plays are selected for further development through a process that may include one or more of the following: classroom discussion, staged readings, an intensive dramaturgical process, a script development workshop with directors, actors and designers culminating in studio workshop productions, or full production. When scheduled, student plays may be selected for inclusion in the Department’s “Francis Ford Coppola One Act Marathon” or “New Play Festival.”

32

PLAYWRIGHTS

KATE SULLIVAN GIBBENS

JOE MARCINIAK

(917) 912-5505 ksgibbens@gmail.com

Bruin862@ucla.edu

Kate Sullivan Gibbens recently received her MFA in playwriting from UCLA, culminating in her thesis play, “Click.” In Fall 2011, “8” (Kate’s collaborative work with Dustin Lance Black dramatizing the California Proposition 8 trial) premiered as a staged reading on Broadway. It was followed by a star-studded reading in Los Angeles. After graduating with a BA in Acting and Directing from Boston’s Emerson College, Kate moved to Los Angeles to pursue playwriting. As an actor, Kate’s favorite roles include Debbie Benton in “Debbie Does Dallas – The Musical,” Meredith in “Batboy,”, Lynch in “Into You,” by Lee Blessing and Eve in “The Vagina Monologues.” As a singer, Kate has performed at Boston’s Encore Lounge and Los Angeles’ Royal/ T Cafe. Kate’s play “Mio Cuore – My Heart” was performed as part of the 2010 Source Festival in Washington DC. “The Great Buford Fire Funnel” was performed at UCLA as part of the 2010 “Francis Ford Coppola One-Act Marathon” as well as a part of the Dramatist Guild’s “Friday Night Footlights” series. Kate is directing the upcoming “Spring Awakening” for GloryStruck Productions, benefiting the Love Is Louder campaign. This Fall, Kate is excited to produce and direct the capitol production of “8” in Sacramento.

Joe Marciniak was born and raised in Indiana. He received a BA in English from Earlham College, where he was the recipient of the Ruby Davis Award. After graduating, he founded the production company Beer Jockey Films and wrote and directed several film shorts. He received an MFA in Playwriting from UCLA in 2012, where his play “Mud People” won the Tim Robbins Award. His play “These Walls Can Talk” premiered at Stone Soup Theater as part of their annual New-Play Festival (Seattle, 2010). “Two Weeds” was presented as part of the “Francis Ford Coppola One-Act Marathon” (Los Angeles, 2010), “Gun Show” received staged readings at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (2012) and “Grandmaster” was produced, courtesy of Theater Masters, in Aspen, CO and NYC (2012).

MASTER OF FINE ARTS DIRECTING CLASS OF 2012 The Master of Fine Arts in Directing is a three-year program that encourages and develops directors who want to do unconventional and provocative work in theater. The program is taught by directors with wide-ranging experience in the professional theater. Admission to the program is highly selective and the curriculum is tailored to help each student realize his or her individual artistic vision in the theater. The first year includes the study of acting and design, scene directing, directing a published one act play and working with acting and design students on the creation of original theater pieces in preparation for advanced collaborative work in the second year. The second year includes collaborating with graduate playwriting students, directing a staged reading of an original full-length play in the New Play Festival and directing a full-length play by a major playwright in an experimental configuration of the black box theater. In the third year, students direct their thesis production of their choice, which may also be done in television.

ALEX LEVY

ANGELA SCOTT

(773) 636-3696 alexblevy@yahoo.com

(619) 881-7856 anrscott@gmail.com

Alex Levy recently began serving as Artistic Director of Ballybeg Theatre in New York City and is currently directing “Empanada For A Dream” at Ballybeg. In Los Angeles, he directed the world premiere of “In The Red” for the ARK Theatre.

For UCLA, he created and directed “A Dark Sun, a play based on the writings of Carl Jung, and “Home Front,” a play based on interviews with combat veterans. Also at UCLA, he directed “Copenhagen” and “Dead Man’s Cell Phone.”

His production of “My Soul is a Witness” was featured in the Hindu Metro-Plus International Theatre Festival in Chennai, India, and toured several cities throughout India. His production of “America Amerique” (World Premiere) enjoyed a two-month national tour for Jena Productions.

In Chicago, his credits include ”Golda’s Balcony” (Jeff Award for “Outstanding Solo Performance”), “The Upper Room” (Jeff Citation for “Best New Work”), “Black Caesar” (Three Black Excellence Nominations) and “Broadway Bound” (Jeff nominated for four citations including “Best Production” and winner of the After Dark Award for “Best Ensemble”) all at Pegasus Players. He also directed nine productions for the Chicago Young Playwrights Festival and “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan” at Redtwist Theatre.

UCLA Credits: “The Ginger Man,” “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me,” “Wife Away” (as part of “The Francis Ford Coppola One Act Marathon”), “Fuddy Meers,” “A Happy New Year,” “Blind Struck Ugly Luck” and “Bittersweet Salvation.” Regional Theatre Credits: “Buried At Sea” (Little Fish Theater); “The Burning Season” (The Blank Theater); “Bright Light City” (Cherry Lane); “Twist Of Fate” (Bank of Ireland Theater, Galway; University College, Dublin); “Paddy’s Day” (Helix Theater; Bank of Ireland Theater, Galway); “Finding The Right Corner In The Fifth Circle, Or What Happened To Dennis” (Chautauqua, UC Santa Cruz). Assistant Directing Credits: “Hope: Part Two of a Mexican Trilogy” and “The Devil’s Advocate” (dir. Jose Luis Valenzuela, LTC); “The American Dream” and “The Sandbox” (dir.

Edward Albee, Cherry Lane Theatre). Angela worked as Literary Manager at Cherry Lane Theatre where she organized four seasons of its OBIE award winning series “Mentor Project.”

stage directors

STAGE DIRECTORS www.tft.ucla .edu/festival

33

acknowledgements

34

DEAN’S EXECUTIVE BOARD Jim Berk Sanford Climan Laurie Coots Francis Ford Coppola Donald De Line Moctesuma Esparza Peter Guber Curtis Hanson Goldie Hawn Ken Hertz, Esq. Reginald Hudlin Phil Kent Harlan P. Kleiman David A. Leveton, Esq. Kishore Lulla Frank Marshall William E. Mitchell Steve Mosko Amy Pascal Cecilia de Mille Presley Richard Rosenblatt Martin Scorsese Brad Silberling Harry Evans Sloan Darren Star Gore Verbinski Paula Wagner Deborah Widener Rita Wilson Richard Wolpert Bruce Vaughn Jonathan Zakin

WITH GRATITUDE...

UCLA SCHOOL OF THEATER, FILM AND TELEVISION Teri Schwartz, Dean Edit Villareal, Associate Dean Rich Rose, Associate Dean Susan Marcano, Assistant Dean Department of Film, Television and Digital Media Barbara Boyle, Chair STEVE MAMBER, Vice Chair CMS Tom Denove, Vice Chair, Production William McDonald, Vice Chair, Undergraduate DeniSe Mann, Area Head, Producers Program CELIA MERCER, Area Head, Animation Program RICHARD WALTER, Co-Area Head, Screenwriting Hal Ackerman, Co-Area Head, Screenwriting Jonathan Furner, MIAS Area Head Department of Theater Michael HacketT, Chair Patricia Harter, Vice Chair, Curriculum Rich Rose, Vice Chair, Undergraduate Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Director, David C. Copley Center for Costume Design Development and Industry Relations Peter Heller, Assistant Dean Brian Rosenberg, Associate Director Chria Hazlitt, Associate Director Jenny Manriquez, Development Coordinator

UCLA/tft film festival 2012

We are truly grateful

MYRL A. SCHREIBMAN, Producing Director

The Festival wishes to thank the following for their support of the Film Festival 2012.

Creative Assistant to the Producer: Tiger Bela Assistant Festival Director: Ryan Moody Festival Coordinator: Ray Olson Festival Administrator: Tara Summers Festival Website Director: Simon Savelyev Festival Website Designer: Jerell Rosales Festival Web Database: Angela McGregor Festival Web Design Code: Herlich Aguiluz IT Director: Tito Deveyra Interview Cinematographer: Dylan Chapgier Payne Tribute Editor: Angel Ochoa Dash Tribute Editor: Daye Rogers Festival Editor: Julio Ramos Festival Business Office: Janis Wilson Student Producers Screenwriters Showcase Sr. Showcase Producers: Justine Prado, Jackie Vleck Sr. Competition Producers: Jim McDermott, Neville Kiser Judge Committee Chair: David Goldblum Event Producer: Ben Kopit Producers Marketplace: Tatenda Mbudzi, Nina Anand Auja, Mira Muratova, Adam Barrow Festival of Animation: Saeko Igarashi, Kartika Mediani Opening Night and Directors Showcase: Dallas King, Doug Turner, Jerell Rosales, Leeor Braude Festival Program Cover Design and Festival Logo: Ian Roth Program Design: Beth Escott Newcomer, Amy McFarland, Escott Associates Senior Writer: David Chute Public Relations Public Relations: The Lippin Group Festival Publicist: Elizabeth Putignani Wolfe, Pam Golum Photographer: Eric Charbonneau, Les Studio Photography

Ted Mundorff, Landmark Theaters, John Logan, Mike Werb, Hal Ackerman, Richard Walter, Marmalade Café, Mike Simpson, Ben Harris, Yolin Sung, Cindy LaBarre, David Dancyger, Rand Soares, Professor Tom Denove, Akiyaa Nickelson, Hammer Museum, Tim Webber, Directors Guild of America, Michael Mann, ASUCLA/UCLA Student Bookstore; Droga Confections; Yogurtland–Westwood, ASUCLA Campus Programs, Doug Ward, Adam Holmes, Steve Engels, Professor Celia Mercer, Chuck Olsen, TFT Prop Department, Patrick Scalise, Dan Ionazzi, UCLA Fire Marshall Steve Jurado, Alexander Payne, Harvey Weinstein, Todd Holland, Julie Dash, Chris Crawley, California Pizza Kitchen, Media Services, Rick Perry, Iyabo Kwayana, Vanita Shastry, Sarah Kruchowski, Stav Raz, Kelly Artz, Vanessa Yee, Richard Carter, Brianna Quick, Neil Paik, Michelle Torrence, Alex Hernandez, Glendon Bar and Kitchen, Ric Robertson, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Film Independent, Ben Harris, and Graphic Designers, Grace Adelson, Wayne Borromeo, Megan Grimley, Susana Monteiro, Ty Mortensen, Emily Negro, Joe Golling, Amanda Crisses, Devin McCloskey, Anna Musso.

Spirit Awards Clip Courtesy of Film Independent Inc. All rights reserved.

Academy Awards® Clips Courtesy Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Warmly Salutes

The UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television Film Festival 2012

contributors

w w w.sonypictures.com Š 2012 Sony Pictures Enter tainment Inc. All Rights Reser ved.

35

Creating what’s next begins now.

contributors

Proud to support the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Film Festival

36

The School of Theater, Film and Television gratefully acknowledges

Janice and Jonathan Zakin donors of the

Lew & Pamela Hunter/Jonathan & Janice Zakin Endowed Chair in Screenwriting for their generosity in support of the UCLA Screenwriting Showcase.

contributors

37

The School of Theater, Film and Television gratefully recognizes

Cynthia and Dan Angel for their continued support of the students in the Producers Program

Special thanks to

contributors

nancy richardson

38

Special thanks to

Special thanks to

contributors

Exclusive Beer Sponsor of UCLA/TFT Film Festival 2012

39

About ucla school of theater, film and television..

thank you

contributors

The Office of Development and Industry Relations at TFT thanks all those who support our students!

40

For information about creating a legacy, please call (310) 206-6154.

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 interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates the study and creation of live performance, film, television, animation and the digital arts.

Our distinguished graduate and undergraduate programs include acting, directing, writing, producing, animation, cinematography, lighting design, set design, costume design and sound design, and offers PhDs in Theater and Performance Studies and Cinema & Media Studies.

Blue Angel is a proud sponsor of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Film Festival.

Cheers! festival_2012_1c.indd 4

5/23/12 5:11 PM