Tag: filmmakers

It’s SOC Week and we’re all invited!!

This week is SOC Week which means there are a ton of interesting events happening on campus in celebration of the American University School of Communication.Check out SOC Week on FacebookSee their websitePDF of the full SOC Week schedule.There’s plenty going on Tuesday, March 27th for SOC Week:(Be sure to check the full schedule to … Continue reading “It’s SOC Week and we’re all invited!!”

This week is SOC Week which means there are a ton of interesting events happening on campus in celebration of the American University School of Communication.

Check out SOC Week on Facebook
See their website
PDF of the full SOC Week schedule.

There’s plenty going on Tuesday, March 27th for SOC Week:
(Be sure to check the full schedule to see all upcoming events)

MEET THE FILMMAKER: NICK FRANCIS
Brought to you by the SOC Center for Social Media
http://centerforsocialmedia.org/events
Tuesday, March 27
4:30-6:00pm
Wechsler Theater (MGC 315)
Nick Francis, Co/Writer, Director, Producer of Black Gold (http://blackgoldmovie.com/) and When China Met Africa (http://whenchinametafrica.com/), will hold a Q&A session. When China Met Africa will screen that evening at Landmark’s E Street Cinema, Time: TBA.

These titles are also available in Media Services:

Black Gold – DVD 2245 and Streaming Video

When China met Africa – DVD 9246


* “SOCIAL NETWORKING” – YOUR PATH TO AN INTERNSHIP OR JOB
Brought to you by the AU Career Center
Tuesday, March 27
5:00-6:30 pm
Butler Conference Room
This workshop will be lead by the AU SOC Career Advisors and will discuss how students can use online platforms to market themselves during the internship/job search.

* SECRETS REVEALED: THE SOMETIMES COMPLICATED, ALWAYS ENTERTAINING JOURNEYS OF A WILDLIFE FILMMAKER
Brought to you by the SOC Center for Environmental Filmmaking
http://www.american.edu/soc/calendar/?id=3403209
Tuesday, March 27
7:00-9:00pm
Wechsler Theater (MGC 315)
Emmy Award winning filmmaker Kevin Bachar, founder and director of Pangolin Pictures, has made natural history films for all the big networks. In this presentation, he will show a number of fascinating clips to illustrate the major challenges facing wildlife filmmakers in the field.

DC Environmental Film Festival: The Best and Worst of Wildlife Films – Tuesday, March 20th at 7pm in Wechsler Theater

DC Environmental Film FestivalAn Evening with Chris Palmer: The Best and Worst of Wildlife Films Tuesday, March 20 at 7pm, Mary Graydon Center’s Wechsler Theater. When Chris Palmer’s book Shooting in the Wild: An Insider’s Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom was published in 2010, it sparked praise, great interest, & controversy. Exposing … Continue reading “DC Environmental Film Festival: The Best and Worst of Wildlife Films – Tuesday, March 20th at 7pm in Wechsler Theater”



DC Environmental Film Festival
An Evening with Chris Palmer: The Best and Worst of Wildlife Films
Tuesday, March 20 at 7pm, Mary Graydon Center’s Wechsler Theater.

When Chris Palmer’s book Shooting in the Wild: An Insider’s Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom was published in 2010, it sparked praise, great interest, & controversy. Exposing the thrilling, yet sometimes tragic, world of wildlife filmmaking, his book revealed a dark side to the industry. In this special evening, Chris discusses the ethics of filmmaking and highlights its worst & best examples with numerous, controversial, high-impact clips from wildlife films.

Reception with refreshments at 6:30pm. FREE admission.
Sponsor: Center for Environmental Filmmaking
Contact: Chris Palmer, palmer@american.edu, 202-885-3408
Web: http://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/films/show/710

85 films Martin Scorsese says you should see

Martin Scorsese did a four hour interview with Fast Company last year for the December/January issue. In the interview he talked a lot about the business of making films and how he’s managed to stay in it and remain relevant for so long. Over the four hours, Scorsese referenced 85 “films you need to see … Continue reading “85 films Martin Scorsese says you should see”

Martin Scorsese did a four hour interview with Fast Company last year for the December/January issue. In the interview he talked a lot about the business of making films and how he’s managed to stay in it and remain relevant for so long.

Over the four hours, Scorsese referenced 85 “films you need to see to know anything about film.” Some films he briefly mentioned, and others he spoke about more in depth. Fast Company compiled a list which includes his direct quotes about the films where applicable, and which provides brief descriptions of the films when quotes weren’t available. This list is being blogged about as a unique film list that’s almost like the ultimate film course designed by a legendary filmmaker. There are some omissions noted by the ArtInfo blog, but they do recognize that he couldn’t list every influential film in history.

Here’s the beginning of Scorsese’s list. Go to Fast Company for the complete list.

Ace in the Hole: “This Billy Wilder film was so tough and brutal in its cynicism that it died a sudden death at the box office, and they re-released it under the title Big Carnival, which didn’t help. Chuck Tatum is a reporter who’s very modern–he’ll do anything to get the story, to make up the story! He risks not only his reputation, but also the life of this guy who’s trapped in the mine.” 1951

All That Heaven Allows: In this Douglas Sirk melodrama, Rock Hudson plays a gardener who falls in love with a society widow played by Jane Wyman. Scandale! 1955

America, America: Drawn directly from director Elia Kazan’s family history, this film offers a passionate, intense view of the challenges faced by Greek immigrants at the end of the 19th century. 1963

An American in Paris: This Vincente Minnelli film, with Gene Kelly, picked up the idea of stopping within a film for a dance from The Red Shoes. 1951

Apocalypse Now: This Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece is from a period when directors like Brian DePalma, John Milius, Paul Schrader, Scorsese and others had great freedom—freedom that they then lost. 1979

Arsenic and Old Lace: Scorsese is a big fan of many Frank Capra movies, and this Cary Grant vehicle is one of several that he’s enjoyed with his family at his office screening room. 1944

The Bad and the Beautiful: Vincente Minnelli directed this film about a cynical Hollywood mogul trying to make a comeback. It stars Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon and Dick Powell. 1952

The Band Wagon: “It’s my favorite of the Vincente Minnelli musicals. I love the storyline that combines Faust and a musical comedy, and the disaster that results. Tony Hunter, the lead character played by Fred Astaire, is a former vaudeville dancer whose time has passed, and who’s trying to make it on Broadway, which is a very different medium of course. By the time the movie was made, the popularity of the Astaire/Rogers films had waned, raising the question of what are you going to do with Fred Astaire in Technicolor? So, really, Tony Hunter is Fred Astaire–his whole reputation is on the line, and so was Fred Astaire’s.” 1953

Born on the Fourth of July: Produced by Universal Pictures under Tom Pollock and Casey Silver, this Tom Cruise movie (directed by Oliver Stone) was an example of how that studio “wanted to make special pictures,” says Scorsese. 1989

Cape Fear: As he once explained to Stephen Spielberg over dinner in Tribeca, one of Scorsese’s fears about directing a remake of this film was that, “The original was so good. I mean, you’ve got Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, it’s terrific!” 1962

See more at Fast Company.

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Visiting Filmmaker Series – Spring 2012: Heather Courtney – “Where Soldiers Come From” – Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 2:30 – 7pm

Heather Courtney – “Where Soldiers Come From” Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012 – 2:30 – 7:00pm Join us for a Master Class with filmmaker Heather Courtney at 2:30 pm followed by a screening of the documentary “Where Soldiers Come From” and Q&A starting at 5:30 pm. WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM is an intimate look at … Continue reading “Visiting Filmmaker Series – Spring 2012: Heather Courtney – “Where Soldiers Come From” – Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 2:30 – 7pm”

Heather Courtney – “Where Soldiers Come From”

Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012 – 2:30 – 7:00pm

Join us for a Master Class with filmmaker Heather Courtney at 2:30 pm followed by a screening of the documentary “Where Soldiers Come From” and Q&A starting at 5:30 pm.

WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM is an intimate look at the young men who fight our wars and the families and town they come from. Returning to her hometown, director Heather Courtney gains extraordinary access, following these young men as they grow and change from reckless teenagers, to soldiers looking for bombs in Afghanistan, to 23-year-old veterans facing the struggles of returning home. The documentary looks beyond the guns and policies of an ongoing war to examine the war’s effect on the future of these young men, their parents and loved ones, and the whole community when young people go off to fight.

Heather Courtney has directed and produced several documentary films including Letters from the Other Side and

Los Trabajadores. With her current film, Where Soldiers Come From, she was a Sundance Edit and Story Lab fellow, and a 2009 recipient of the United States Artists fellowship. Her films have been funded by a Fulbright Fellowship, ITVS, the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Paul Robeson Fund, and the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund. She was recently named one of Film Independent’s Top 10 Filmmakers to Watch. Letters from the Other Side was the Closing Night film at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2006, screened at numerous festivals around the world, and was broadcast on over 60 PBS stations. Los Trabajadores won the Audience Award at SXSW and the International Documentary Association David Wolper award, and was broadcast nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens. She was a co-director on Roger Weisberg’s Critical Condition, which aired nationally on POV in Fall 2008, and is a member of the acclaimed film distribution cooperative New Day Films. Prior to receiving her MFA in Film Production, she spent eight years writing and photographing for the United Nations and several refugee and immigrant rights organizations, including in the Rwandan refugee camps after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Excerpted from the Center for Social Media site.

Films of Jay Rosenblatt Vol 1 now available in Media Services

Collage films that use educational movies from the 1950s and 1960s, newsreels, Hollywood clips, historical footage, home movies and other found footage to present the subject of the film. These films span the first decade of Rosenblatt’s cinematic career. DVD 8994 Jay Rosenblatt site The Smell of Burning Ants

Collage films that use educational movies from the 1950s and 1960s, newsreels, Hollywood clips, historical footage, home movies and other found footage to present the subject of the film. These films span the first decade of Rosenblatt’s cinematic career.

DVD 8994

Jay Rosenblatt site

The Smell of Burning Ants

Visiting Filmmaker Series – Spring 2012: Gerry Wurzburg – “Wretches and Jabberers” – Thursday, February 16 from 2:30 – 7:00pm

Gerry Wurzburg – “Wretches and Jabberers” Date: Thursday, February 16, 2012 – 2:30 – 7:00pm Location: Wechsler Theater in the Mary Graydon Center of American University Join us for a Master Class with filmmaker Gerry Wurzburg at 2:30 pm followed by a screening of the documentary “Wretches and Jabberers” and Q&A starting at 5:30 pm. … Continue reading “Visiting Filmmaker Series – Spring 2012: Gerry Wurzburg – “Wretches and Jabberers” – Thursday, February 16 from 2:30 – 7:00pm”


Gerry Wurzburg – “Wretches and Jabberers”

Date: Thursday, February 16, 2012 – 2:30 – 7:00pm

Location: Wechsler Theater in the Mary Graydon Center of American University

Join us for a Master Class with filmmaker Gerry Wurzburg at 2:30 pm followed by a screening of the documentary “Wretches and Jabberers” and Q&A starting at 5:30 pm.

Gerry Wurzburg’s documentary chronicles the world travels of disability rights advocates, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, in a bold quest to change attitudes about the intelligence and abilities of
people with autism. Until the 1980s, most children and young adults with autism in the US were excluded from normal schooling. Some were placed in mental institutions. Like many children with autism, Tracy and Larry grew up unable to speak. They faced a future of social isolation in adult disability centers. When Tracy was 23 and Larry 34, their lives changed when they learned to communicate by typing. Larry notes, “nothing I did…convinced people I had an inner life until I started typing.” In the film, Tracy and Larry take to the road to promote awareness of the hidden intelligence in those who face speech and communication challenges, connecting with others like them across the globe who struggle to find a means of expression.

Gerry Wurzburg is an Academy Award®-winning documentary producer and director whose work addresses disabilities, contemporary history, social justice, education and health. Major awards include an Academy Award® for the documentary Educating Peter, an Academy Award® nomination for Autism is a World, and the Cable ACE for Documentary Directing, among others. She is a recipient of three National Endowment for Arts grants, the Governor of Tokyo Prize and the Japan Prize. Her work is in the Broadcast Museum, the Lincoln Center Theater Library and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Library.

Excerpted from the Center for Social Media site.

Superbowl XLVI Ads Directed by Filmmakers

As it turns out, many of the Superbowl XLVI ads were directed by filmmakers. Slashfilm.com does a great job of highlighting them along with embedded Youtubes of the ads themselves. Here are a few of them, check out Slashfilm.com for the rest. You can also go to NFL’s Superbowl XLVI Commercials page to see them … Continue reading “Superbowl XLVI Ads Directed by Filmmakers”

As it turns out, many of the Superbowl XLVI ads were directed by filmmakers. Slashfilm.com does a great job of highlighting them along with embedded Youtubes of the ads themselves. Here are a few of them, check out Slashfilm.com for the rest. You can also go to NFL’s Superbowl XLVI Commercials page to see them all. Please note that the titles and call numbers in bold are available for check out from the Media Services Home Use Collection.

Craig Gillespie, director of Lars and the Real Girl – HU DVD 4598 and the 2011 Fright Night remake, directed the Acura “Transactions” spot featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno:

David Gordon Green, director of Pineapple Express – HU DVD 7083, Your Highness, The Sitter, Snow Angels, All the Real Girls, Eastbound & Down – HU DVD 7041 (Season 1), HU DVD 7042 (Season 2) and George Washington, Chrysler’s “Its Halftime in America” spot featuring Clint Eastwood:

Joe Pytka, director of Space Jam – HU DVD 7990, Let it Ride and many famous commercials and music videos, directed Pepsi Max’s “Check-Out” spot:


Lance Acord, cinematographer of films such as Buffalo ’66 – HU DVD 5096, Being John Malkovich – HU DVD 91, Lost in Translation – HU DVD 741 and Where the Wild Things Are – HU DVD 7208, directed Volkswagen’s “The Dog Strikes Back” spot featuring Star Wars:


Sundance unveils dramatic, doc competition slate

Filly Brown “Filly Brown” – Directed by Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos, written by Delara. A Mexican girl achieves musical fame while coping with her mother’s incarceration in this hip-hop-driven drama. Features Lou Diamond Phillips, Gina Rodriguez, Jenni Rivera and Edward James Olmos. For Ellen “For Ellen” – Directed and written by So Yong … Continue reading “Sundance unveils dramatic, doc competition slate”

Filly Brown

“Filly Brown” – Directed by Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos, written by Delara. A Mexican girl achieves musical fame while coping with her mother’s incarceration in this hip-hop-driven drama. Features Lou Diamond Phillips, Gina Rodriguez, Jenni Rivera and Edward James Olmos.

For Ellen


“For Ellen” – Directed and written by So Yong Kim. A struggling musician fights his estranged wife for custody of their young daughter. With Paul Dano, Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Margarita Levieva, Shay Mandigo.

Keep the Lights On

“Keep the Lights On” – Directed by Ira Sachs, written by Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias. Two men share a passionate long-term relationship in this fact-inspired drama. With Thure Lindhart, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, Paprika Steen.


The Comedy

“The Comedy” – Directed by Rick Alverson, written by Alverson, Robert Donne and Colm O’Leary. An aging hipster searches for meaning in a world that values status, popularity and good looks above all else. Stars Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Kate Lyn Sheil, Alexia Rasmussen, Gregg Turkington.

Excerpted from Variety
“I’m almost starting to think a bad economy makes for better artists,” John Cooper noted as he unveiled the lineup of the 28th annual Sundance Film Festival, marking his third year as director of America’s premier independent-cinema event. “When things start to get crazy, it’s actually good for them. They start making the films they want to make.”

Certainly the economic slump has had little impact on the numbers. Set to unspool Jan. 19-29 in Park City, Utah, Sundance will present 111 features (88 of them world premieres) culled from a pool of 4,042 submissions; given that last year the fest received fewer submissions (3,812) yet accommodated more titles (115), the selection process can be termed the most competitive in recent memory. Packages and passes have sold out as quickly as ever, and sponsorship has held steady, director of programming Trevor Groth said. Read more here.
Excerpted from Variety

The Real Georges Méliès: Friday, November 18 from 4:30pm – 5:30pm Lower Level of the Library

The Real Georges Méliès Friday, November 18, at 4:30 pm American University Library Media Classroom Lower Level Discover the films of George Méliès, whose life and work structure the story of Martin Scorsese’s HUGO. Professor Despina Kakoudaki will present an overview of early cinema, show and discuss some of Méliès most beloved films, and screen … Continue reading “The Real Georges Méliès: Friday, November 18 from 4:30pm – 5:30pm Lower Level of the Library”

The Real Georges Méliès
Friday, November 18, at 4:30 pm
American University Library
Media Classroom
Lower Level

Discover the films of George Méliès, whose life and work structure the story of Martin Scorsese’s HUGO. Professor Despina Kakoudaki will present an overview of early cinema, show and discuss some of Méliès most beloved films, and screen Trip to the Moon (1902).

The Media Classroom is located in Media Services, on the lower level of the American University Library. Inquire at the Media Services desk and we’ll direct you to the screening room.

More Georges Méliès can be found here in Media Services:

Méliès le cinémagicien – DVD 540

The great train robbery and other primary works – DVD 551
A Trip to the Moon

The Magic of Méliès – DVD 554

Georges Méliès̀: first wizard of cinema (1896-1913) – DVD 4141

Landmarks of early film: Vol. 1 – DVD 6116
A Trip to the Moon

Saved from the flames: 54 rare and restored films – DVD 7271
Excelsior! Prince of Magicians

Soviet Communist Party saved 194 lost Hollywood silent films…

Pretty amazing stuff: In a large mahogany box embellished with silk pockets and Cyrillic lettering, 10 lost pieces of America’s cultural heritage recently landed in Culpeper, Va. – thanks, in a roundabout way, to the Soviet Union and a bureaucratic penchant for filing. The box, a gift from the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library to the … Continue reading “Soviet Communist Party saved 194 lost Hollywood silent films…”

Pretty amazing stuff:
In a large mahogany box embellished with silk pockets and Cyrillic lettering, 10 lost pieces of America’s cultural heritage recently landed in Culpeper, Va. – thanks, in a roundabout way, to the Soviet Union and a bureaucratic penchant for filing.

The box, a gift from the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library to the Library of Congress, contained digital copies of 10 silent films that had been thought to be lost to history. The titles, such as “Valley of the Giants,” produced in 1919, and “The Call of the Canyon,” produced in 1923, may seem unfamiliar, but the movies were made by some of the era’s biggest names.