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
Assistant Professor and co-head of the TV Writing concentration, Blair Singer served as co-executive producer on the drama series Filthy Rich, which has been scheduled by Fox to premiere in September of this year.
Balk, a 2019 thesis film directed and co-written by alumnus Gabriel Wilson ’19, co-written by alumnus Ben Gottlieb ’19 and produced by alumna Jennifer Kaiser ’19, has been nominated for a College Television Award. Winners can expect a $3,000 cash prize and will be announced at the 40th edition of the event on May 30. The film had its premiere at last year’s Columbia University Film Festival.
Professor and Directing Concentration head, Tom Kalin will receive the Pride Award at this year’s Ashland Independent Film Festival in Oregon. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the festival will be held entirely online from May 22 to June 14.
Winners were announced online last week for the renowned Tribeca Film Festival that was canceled due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Two Columbia films received recognition.
Diversity in Film is a bi-weekly series covering underrepresented groups in Film.
Becoming, a film following Michelle Obama by director Nadia Hallgren, was released on Netflix last week.
Father, a short film written and directed by current student Gleb Osatinski, will have its international premiere at the 60th edition of the Krakow Film Festival in Poland in June. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the festival will take place online between May 31 and June 7. The film will show three times with the final showtimes being announced online on May 10.
Iron Hands, written and directed by alumnus Johnson Cheng ’19, was released on Vimeo Staff Picks last week. The film was produced by current student Tianqi Zhuo, co-produced by alumna Xixi Wang ’18 and associate produced by current student Yachi Yang. Current student Shipei Wen served as Director of Photography.
On A Global Scale is a bi-weekly series about international co-productions by Columbia filmmakers. Welcome to another edition of On A Global Scale. This series celebrates the international spirit of the Columbia University film program and the incredible global collaborations coming out of it.
In the modern age of streaming, the international film community has grown more global and vital than ever. This has led to an increase in foreign language films leaving their marks on mainstream movie culture, emphasized particularly with Parasite being the first non-English speaking…
Diversity in Film is a bi-weekly series covering underrepresented groups in Film.
Associate Professor and Film Chair Hilary Brougher wrote a personal essay titled “Try This at Home” for Talkhouse, about the making of her film South Mountain and its straight to digital release following the COVID-19 crisis. The film, which she wrote and directed, had previously been acquired for a traditional release with Breaking Glass Pictures. Brougher writes: "This movie we made at home will release May 5 on VOD, foregoing the impartial space of a theater, broaching the intimacy of your own home."
Homeland Elegies, a forthcoming novel by alumnus Ayad Akhtar ’02, was named one of The New York Times' "20 Books We're Watching For in 2020."
