The Film Program and NYC Media present the premiere of “Columbia Cinema: New Short Films from Columbia University School of the Arts,” a television series of short films that will air Wednesdays at 10 pm on NYC life starting July 20.
Each episode showcases two short films by Columbia University School of the Arts MFA students and alumni, followed by one or two interviews with the filmmakers, who will talk about their film and experiences at Columbia. The program will run for eight weeks.
This is the first time NYC Media will air films by MFA students in their entirety. Produced by Film students Brooke Sebold and Mayuran Tiruchelvam, advised by Assistant Professor and Director of Production Maureen A. Ryan, “Columbia Cinema” will kick off with films The Assasstant by Scott Burkhardt (’08SOA) and Without Glasses by Konstantinos Antonopoulos, a current Film student.
“Our students’ films have also done well and won awards at film festivals around the world, so we’re thrilled to partner with NYC Media for this opportunity to bring the work of our talented directors, producers and screenwriters to a New York City television audience,” Ryan said. “Brooke and Mayuran have worked extremely hard, and we plan for this inaugural series to become an annual program.”
Sebold’s first documentary, Red Without Blue, received over 20 awards including the audience award at Slamdance. In 2010, she participated in the Berlin Talent Campus and Co-Production Market with feature project Gone, June. Her work can be seen on NBC, MSNBC, PBS, Sundance Channel, and Current TV, where a piece she edited was nominated for an Emmy. Tiruchelvam’s feature debut as a screenwriter and producer, The Girl is in Trouble, recently completed post-production. A contemporary noir about a Lower East Side bartender entangled in a murder mystery, the film was executive produced by Spike Lee. He is currently producing the documentary Farewell Ferris Wheel, about the American carnival industry and the Mexican migrant workers who provide its labor.
Columbia University School of the Arts offers students the opportunity to study film at one of the world’s great universities, with a faculty of working professionals esteemed in both Hollywood and the independent film community. The MFA programs—in Screenwriting/Directing and in Creative Producing—are among the world’s premiere training grounds for young filmmakers. Since the MFA began in 1966, it has been renowned for the global success of its alumni in film and television, including top prizes at Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Berlin and the Academy Awards.
NYC life is available in the New York tri-state area on broadcast, cable and satellite channels, Channel 25 on most systems and Channel 22 on Cablevision. NYC life is the flagship station of NYC Media, the official network of the City of New York. Visit nyc.gov/media for local cable and satellite listings.