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
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.
The Black List and Women In Film, Los Angeles announced the participants in their 2019 Feature Residency program as well as their Annual Feature Lab, and alumni Anya Meksin '11 and Jimmy Keyrouz '16 both had projects selected by the Annual Feature Lab.
The 76th Venice International Film Festival, which is the oldest film festival in the world, selected two shorts by Columbia filmmakers this year.
Stephanie Falkeis, a current Film student, was chosen to participate in the Telluride Student Symposium at the 46th Annual Telluride Film Festival.
Alumnus Sameh Zoabi's ‘05 and Professor Dan Kleinman’s film Tel Aviv on Fire opened to glowing reviews and has been nominated for four Israeli “Ophir” Awards.
Léa & I, a documentary written and directed by current nonfiction writing student Camille Shooshani, premiered on Netflix on August 2, 2019.
Darling, a film 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 alumnus Mahak Jiwani ‘18 will have its world premiere at the 76th Annual Venice International Film Festival. Darling will be the first ever Pakistani film to screen at the Venice Film Festival, which is the oldest festival of its kind. Darling is set in a dance theatre in Lahore and tells a tale of romance and coming-of-age. As a new show is introduced at the erotic dance…
Independent Filmmaker Project, a non-profit based in Brooklyn that hosts the annual Gotham Awards, has named producer and alumnus Jeffrey Sharp '01 as its new executive director. An award-winning international film and TV producer and publishing entrepreneur, Sharp brings decades of experience to IFP, including his work producing films such as Boys Don’t Cry, You Can Count on Me, Evening, and The Yellow Birds, and digitally publishing authors such as William Styron, Pat Conroy, and Pearl Buck as co-founder and President of Open Road Integrated Media.
Film Program Chair Hilary Brougher was recently honored with the Maine International Film Festival’s Mid-Life Achievement Award.
The feature script project Sisyphus, written and directed by recent graduate Xixi Wang '19 and produced by recent graduate Meng Xiong '19, was officially selected by FIRST Financing Forum as one of their Projects of the Year. FIRST Financing Forum is a major component of The FIRST International Film Festival, which prides itself on being a platform for new and groundbreaking Chinese filmmakers. The forum is designed to bridge emerging filmmakers with industry professionals through script workshops, pitch presentations, and one-on-one meetings. Previously-selected projects include …
Socrates, a film produced by Professor Ramin Bahrani, was recently acquired for North American distribution by Breaking Glass Pictures. The film was nominated for both the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. It won awards at many festivals, including Festival Mix Brasil (Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor for lead actor Christian Mahleiros), Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival and the Miami Film Festival.
Many Columbia students and alumni took home awards at the 2019 Palm Springs Shortfest last week, the largest short film festival in North America.
