The Legacy of Milos Forman
In 1978, esteemed director Milos Forman and his Screenwriting mentor Frank Daniel were appointed co-chairs of the Film Program. Under their leadership, the program flourished and became the world-renowned institution of film education that it is today. In many ways, Forman was the "creative founder" of Columbia Film, having shaped and refined its commitment to narrative filmmaking anchored in strong screenplays. He gave it a character as distinct as his own—original, passionate, intelligent, and international.
News
Seven films by Columbia alumni will screen at the 17th annual Hollyshorts Film Festival in Los Angeles from September 23 until October 1, 2021. The festival will take place in person at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood as well as virtually.
Production has begun on La Cabeza de Joaquín Murrieta, a new action-packed Amazon Original series, co-created by alumnus Mauricio Leiva-Cock '13.
Alumnus Adam Salky ’08 will have his new film, Intrusion, premiere on Netflix later this month.
Two Columbia Filmmakers have been awarded the prestigious 2021 Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowships. They are: alumnus Ryan Craver ’20, for his screenplay, Tadpole, and Film student Rachel Ward, in recognition of her screenplay, Typhoid Mary.
Alumnus and adjunct faculty member Matthew Fennell ’18 serves as one of the writers for Netflix’s highly anticipated new series, Brand New Cherry Flavor.
Film alumnus Arie Esiri ’19 was awarded the honor of Best Feature Narrative at the 2021 BlackStar Film Festival for his first feature film, Eyimofe (This Is My Desire).
Humanitas has announced that Film student Felix van Kann is a finalist for the 2021-22 David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship.
Hector's Woman (La Mujer de Hector), written & directed by Columbia University Film Program student Ricardo Varona and produced by fellow student Annie Pettinga and alumnus Tony Yang '20, recently won the award for Best Short Film at the New Faces, New Voices Film Festival.
Alumnus and adjunct faculty member Sherman Payne ’10 has been tapped to adapt Razorblade Tears for Paramount.
Three Columbia filmmakers have had their screenplays selected to participate in Cine Qua Non Lab’s esteemed script revision lab.
On Wednesday, the Student Academy Awards announced their finalists for the 2021 competition, naming Film alumna Victoria Rivera '20 among them. Three other students and alumni from the Columbia community were also named: Journalism student Zoe Ramushu, and alumni Sarah Collins (JRN '20) and David Peter Hansen (JRN '21) are all in the running for this prestigious film award.
Six feature films and one narrative series by faculty and alumni have been selected by The Gotham Film & Media Institute for its Gotham Week Project Market, which will be held virtually from September 19–24, 2021.
