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The stormy weather of May 15th could not dampen the spirits of faculty, staff, graduates and their families who gathered for the awarding of diplomas at this year's FMS diploma ceremony. Gathered in the Hawkins Carlson Room in Rush Rhees LIbrary, the students received their diplomas from a number of film faculty in attendance. Prior to this, the annual commencement prizes were awarded. The Barbara Lee Rubin Prize for Creativity in Film is awarded annually to a graduating senior whose achievements in Film Studies have demonstrated steadfast dedication to the highest standards of scholarship, creativity, or artistic accomplishment. This year, the recipient was Nancy Weng. The Gollin Fund Award is awarded to a graduating senior for extracurricular contribution to the Film and Media Studies Program. FMS was fortunate to have two students this year who were voted by the faculty as deserving of this prize, Derek Murphy and Maura Rapkin. After the award portion of the ceremony, Professor Sharon Willis shared a greeting from Professor Jason Middleton, who is currently on leave. The gathered audience was treated to a screening of films by this year's Gollin Fund Award winners, Derek Murphy's A TELEPHONE FOR THE AGES and Maura Rapkin's LA BELLE. Congratulations to the graduates!
Gollin Festival Call for Submissions
Calling all student filmmakers! The Film and Media Studies Program is seeking submissions for the 6th Annual Gollin Film Festival. This year, the cash prizes will total $1000. All films submitted must have been created while enrolled at the University of Rochester. Accepted Format: Mini-DV, VHS, DVD, digital or interactive pieces on CD-R, Mac compatible DVD (No DVD+R), and 16mm. Maximum of 2 entries per student. Submit films to Stephanie Ashenfelder, Studio Arts Coordinator at Sage Art Center by Monday, April 18, 2011. The Gollin Film Festival is named for Film and Media Studies Program founder, Professor Emeritus Richard Gollin. For more information, contact FMS at 275-5757.
6th Annual Gollin Film Festival
On the evening of Wednesday, April 27th, the 6th Annual Gollin Film Festival was held. The 12 selected films were screened in Sloan Auditorium. First prize was awarded to Sam Stewart '13 for his film, THIS IS A CRAZY PERSON (9:00). Second prize went to Jacq Carpentier '13 for GROUNDED (1:59). Third prize was split between two graduating seniors, Derek Murphy for A TELEPHONE FOR THE AGES (8:54) and Harrison Simon for BRUSH DEGRADATION (3:00). This was the third year in a row that Derek Murphy had a prizewinning film in the Gollin Festival. His submission this year was made in concert with FMS alumnus Jon Marquis '09, for the fall's 24 Hour Film Festival.
Visiting Filmmaker Ivan Goldschmidt
On April 15th, filmmaker Ivan Goldschmidt will present his Academy Award nominated film, NA WEWE, at noon. Mr. Goldschmidt will screen his film and then talk with students about the film and the filmmaking process. This event is open to all University of Rochester students. Lunch will be provided so registration is necessary. Please contact FMS at 275-5757 or via email at cricket.fegan@rochester.edu. Register early for this special event. For more information about the film, click here.
Visiting Filmmaker Nick Sivakumaran
Nick Sivakumaran '95 returns to the University of Rochester campus on April 8th. Sivakumaran, an MFA graduate of the USC School of Cinema-Television had his thesis film, Diwali, win the DGA Student Film Award and was featured in the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the 2002 Cannes International Film Festival. Nick is currently teaching Directing and Cinematography at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios, Los Angeles. Students interested in participating in a roundtable lunch with Nick on April 8th should contact the Film and Media Studies office at 275-5757 or email cricket.fegan@rochester.edu.
Gollin Winner Chosen for ArtAwake 2011
Student filmmaker, Derek Murphy '11, has won multiple awards in the Gollin Film Festival. Now, one of those prizewinning films will be featured in this year's ArtAwake event. Stonefly Adults won 3rd prize in the 2010 Gollin Film Festival. ArtAwake seeks to unite the community, from college students to families and young professionals to senior citizens, to facilitate interaction and discussion that will lead to creative solutions for Rochester's unused spaces, for its creative community, and ultimately for the future of its downtown. ArtAwake will create an innovative and interactive festival that repurposes a vacant urban space through the exhibition of local artists, musicians, dancers, videographers, designers, businesses, and technologies. After 3 successful annual festivals, ArtAwake has totaled over 5,000 attendees and has featured over 500 pieces by 300+ artists, performances by 50+ groups, delicious local foods, and a myriad of interactive exhibits. The 4th Annual ArtAwake will take place on Saturday, April 16th 2011 from 3pm - 1am at the Alliance Building on 183 E. Main St. Congratulations, Derek!
48 Hour Film Festival Call for Participants
Join the 48 Hour Film Festival, a two day contest in which groups compete to make the best short film. But wait, there's a catch! Each film must feature something interesting or peculiar found on campus, such as, a multi-colored sink drain. First prize is a director's chair; second prize is a director's beret; third prize is a clapboard. Judging will not be based on the quality of the image; any and all filming technology is acceptable. Festival begins at 2pm on Friday, April 1st, and ends 2pm on Sunday, April 3rd. Anyone interested in participating in the Festival should e-mail Maura Rapkin at maura.rapkin@rochester.edu
Professor Creech presents Research in Progress
Professor Jennifer Creech will be presenting on her research, Scenes from a Marriage: Gender, Voice & Romance in East German Film. Her presentation will be in the Gamble Room in Rush Rhees LIbrary on March 3rd, 2011 at 2:00 pm. For more information, contact the Department of Modern Languages and Culture at 585-275-4251.
Linguistics Professor Carlson Explains Super Bowl Ads
Professor Greg Carlson doesn't just watch, chuckle, cringe at, and rank Super Bowl ads like the rest of us - he teaches them. Since 1994, the University of Rochester linguist has used the annual advertising extravaganza as a teaching tool in his popular language and advertising class. In fact, Carlson is so indebted to the fresh crop of ads during the big game that he only schedules the class during the spring semester. "There is no other time of year when advertising is so much in the news," says Carlson. And, serendipitously, the game falls within the first few weeks of the semester. The class analyzes the advertisers' linguistic tricks. For example, is the wording ambiguous, leading you initially in one direction, then surprising you with a different message? To read the rest of this article, go here.
Printmaker Amos Kennedy Jr. Visits the University of Rochester
The Genesee Center for Arts and Education in partnership with the University of Rochester's Frederick Douglass Institute, Department of Art and Art History, and the Film and Media Studies Program will present a screening and talkback of "Proceed and Be Bold." This film is about printmaker, Amos Kennedy Jr. Letterpress printing may not be well-known to the world, but hanging up your suit and tie to pursue a creative passion is something most people have dreamed about at one point or another. Amos did just that at the age of 40, trading in his computer and comfortable salary for a letter press... and the life of - what he calls - "a humble negro printer". Get to know this provocative artist through a series of FREE movie screenings and talk backs, workshops, and poster exhibits. On Friday, January 14th, "Proceed and Be Bold" will be screened with a talkback with Mr. Kennedy in the Gowen Room in Wilson Commons. This event begins at 5:00 p.m. with a reception to follow in the Art and Music Library in Rush Rhees Library. For more information about this event and others during Mr. Kennedy's visit, check out the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education website here.
Warhol Scholar Douglas Crimp to Complete Memoir
Professor Douglas Crimp, Fanny Knapp Allen Professor of Art History and Professor of Visual and Cultural Studies, received a grant for $45,000 from The Creative Capital /Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program to complete his memoir, Before Pictures. The book is an account of his first ten years in New York City, 1967-1977. The Creative Capital /Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program awards project-based grants to authors of articles, blogs, books, and alternative media that enhance Warhol's legacy and support contemporary and visual arts. Crimp's memoir received one of this year's highest grants, which range from $3,000 to $45,000. By combining personal stories and critical theory, both past and present, Before Pictures will explore the events in Crimp's life in New York before the "Pictures" show at Artists Space in 1977, for which he became known around the world. Read the full announcement here.
On Sunday October 24th, Sophomore Devin Embil won the 24 Hour Film Festival with his mockumentary "Party Animals," receiving a cash prize of $50. The Festival was organized by the Undergraduate Film Council and featured the films of four other student groups. As per festival rules, each film was written, directed, and edited in the 24 hour period allotted, and contains one assigned line of dialogue from a classic film. Judges for the Festival included faculty members Joanne Bernardi and Neal Dhand, as well as graduate students Ryan Conrath and Shota Ogawa.
Professor Jennifer Creech has been awarded the Women in German Best Article Prize for "A Few Good Men: Gender, Ideology and Narrative Politics in "The Lives of Others" and "Good Bye, Lenin!" which was published in Women in German Yearbook (2009). One of the categories for the award is that the work must present original new research that makes a significant contribution to the field of feminist German studies. The committee wrote in the prize announcement that "the esssay implies a sophisticated understanding of feminist analysis and contributes to the advancement of feminist theory in German Studies." Congratulations, Professor Creech!
FMS Director Willis Featured In FDI Series
On Thursday, October 7, 2010, Film and Media Studies Director, Sharon Willis will discuss "Keeping It "Real": Media Memory in Kasi Lemmons' TALK TO ME". This discussion seminar will take place in the Hawkins Carlson seminar room at 12:30 p.m. It is part of the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies "Works in Progress" Seminar Series. A copy of Sharon Willis' paper can be requested via e-mail or is available in the Institute. For more information about this or other offerings in the series, contact the Institute at (585)276-5744, or via e-mail: fdi@mail.rochester.edu. You can also visit the FDI websitehere.
Bernardi Speaks About Film Preservation
Joanne Bernardi, associate professor of Japanese culture and film and media studies, explains how the study of film preservation leads to a better understanding of the social, cultural and historical value of motion pictures and national film cinemas. Bernardi's research and courses include subjects such as Godzilla and Japanese animation. To watch the video, click here. This clip was filmed in the University's new TV studio in Carol Simon Hall.
Filmmaker Presents Tea On The Axis of Evil
On Wednesday, September 22, 2010, filmmaker Jean Marie Offenbacher visited the University of Rochester to present her film, Tea on the Axis of Evil. This award-winning film about "REAL life in Syria" was presented by Offenbacher in Sloan Auditorium in Robert B. Goergen Hall on the River Campus and included a question and answer period following the screening. A reception followed in the Munnerlyn Atrium. This event was co-sponsored by the Department of Religion and Classics, the Program for Visual and Cultural Studies, the Department of Anthropology and the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies.
Gollin Festival Winner Featured
Third prize winner in the 5th Annual Gollin Film Festival, JoHannah Kohl, was featured in a story in The Daily News. You can read the story at The Daily News Online.
5th Annual Gollin Film Festival
Join the Film and Media Studies Program for an evening of student films. The 5th annual Gollin Film Festival will showcase twelve student films including the festival prizewinners. The screening will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, 2010 in Lander Auditorium in Hutchison Hall. A reception in the Green Lounge, also in Hutchison Hall, will immediately follow. This event is free and open to the public. The Gollin Film Festival is named for Film and Media Studies Program founder, Professor Emeritus Richard Gollin. For more information, contact FMS at 275-5757.
Film Lost and Found: The Experience of Pre- and Silent Cinema
Combining the resources of the University of Rochester, George Eastman House, and Eastman School of Music, this project promotes new developments in scholarship about the experience of early twentieth century visual culture, through an understanding of the relationship between films, technology, presentation and historical context. Four days of public events (at each of the three collaborating institutions) will include a demonstration of the original nickelodeon experience; two film programs at George Eastman House's Dryden Theater, one each from the silent (with live musical accompaniment) and early sound periods; and a magic lantern event showcasing pre-cinema viewing practices and material culture of the nineteenth century. Supporting events include a discussion on film music, a demonstration of nitrate film material and discussions on film handling, conservation, and collection cataloging and access by members of the Eastman House Motion Picture Department; and a tour of the Motion Picture Department and the Technology Collection. Event dates: March 18-21, 2010. Click here to read the complete overview of this Humanities Project.
Bernardi Presents at Colloquium Hosted by Beloit College
Professor Joanne Bernardi presented material from her Tourist Japan course at the Bringing Asian Arts and Material Culture Into the Undergraduate Curriculum colloquium at Beloit College. The conference which took place September 25th and 26th was supported by a grant from the Freeman Foundation. Bernardi's course is based on current research for a book on Japan as a tourist destination in the early 20th century. It includes research on home movies, travel films, souvenir and educational films about Japan. To view an abbreviated syllabus and powerpoint presentation, look here. The links can be found under the information for Panel 1.
Middleton Essay in Cinema Journal
Cinema Journal (2010) will publish Professor Jason Middleton's essay, "The Subject of Torture: Regarding the Pain of Americans in Hostel." Middleton is an assistant professor of English.
Jennifer Creech, assistant professor of German has published "A Few Good Men: Gender, Ideology and Narrative Politics in The Lives of Others and Goodbye, Lenin!" in Women in German Yearbook 25 (October 2009): 100-26.
Filmmaker Scheffner presents The Halfmoon Files
"There once was a man. This man came into the European war. Germany captured this man. He wishes to return to India. If God has mercy, he will make peace soon. This man will go away from here." Mall Singh's crackling words are heard as he spoke into the phonographic funnel on 11th December 1916 in the city of Wünsdorf, near Berlin. 90 years later, Mall Singh is a number on an old Shellac record in an archive - one amongst hundreds of voices of colonial soldiers of the First World War. The recordings were produced as the result of an unique alliance between the military, the scientific community and the entertainment industry. In his experimental search "The Halfmoon Files", Philip Scheffner follows the traces of these voices to the origin of their recording.
Filmmaker Philip Scheffner presented his award-winning film, The Halfmoon Files, on October 28th. The event included a question and answer period followed by a reception with the filmmaker. Sponsored by the Film and Media Studies Program, the Visual and Cultural Studies Program and the Mellon Foundation. For more on this film, see The Halfmoon Files site.