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
King in the Wilderness, an HBO documentary produced by Professor Trey Ellis about the last three days of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, took home the Emmy for Outstanding Historical Documentary last night.
Three films by Columbia filmmakers were selected to screen at the 46th Annual Telluride Film Festival, Mizaru, Night Swim, and Ford v Ferrari.
Three works by Columbia filmmakers premiered at the 57th Annual New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center, Fit Model and The Raven.
Several Columbia filmmakers screened work at the prestigious 2019 Toronto International Film Festival this month.
Socrates, a film produced by Professor Ramin Bahrani, won the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Award in the category “Someone to Watch.” The film also earned nominations for Best Male Lead and the John Casavettes award given to the best feature made for under $500,000.
Sudarshan Suresh '19 and Barbara Cigarroa '18 were selected for Filmmaker Magazine's '25 New Faces of Independent Film' 2019 list.
Renee Marie Petropoulos '17 won the Best Female Director Award at the Hollyshorts Film Festival last month, for her film Tangles and Knots, which she wrote and directed.
Awake, directed by Mark Raso '12 and co-written with his brother Joseph Raso '04, is currently in production for Netflix. The Raso brothers also serve as executive producers of the project.
Darling, directed and co-written by current student Saim Sadiq, co-written by current student Rodney Llaverias, co-produced by current student Jasmin Tenucci, and produced by alumna Mahak Jiwani ’18 won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the 76th Annual Venice International Film Festival.
At the Jerusalem Film Festival, House of Hummingbird, written and directed by alumna Bora Kim ‘11, won the prize for best first feature in the International category.
Acting alumnae Folami Williams '16 and Emily Murphy '17 are set to join the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Legendary producer Sheila Nevins and MTV picked up St. Louis Superman, a short documentary directed by two Columbia alumni, Sami Khan '09 and Smriti Mundhra '09. St. Louis Superman tells the tale of Bruce Franks Jr., a Ferguson activist and battle rapper who was elected to the overwhelmingly white and Republican Missouri House of Representatives, who must overcome both personal trauma and political obstacles to pass a critical bill for his community. The documentary first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival New York in 2019.
