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
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S, a screenplay written by alumni David Light '02 and Joseph Raso '04 that premiered last year, was nominated for a Humanitas Prize for Children's Teleplay.
Aralık (Lacuna), a feature film written by current student Selman Nacar has been awarded a grant of 100,000 TL from the Malatya Film Platform. The Official Selections were announced at the 8th Malatya International Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey.
At the 76th Golden Globe Awards, two films by Alumni were nominated, Green Book, directed and co-written by writing alumnus Peter Farrelly '86 and Ralph Breaks the Internet co-directed and co-written by film alumnus Phil Johnston '04.
Current Student, Ryan Patrick Lonergan's feature film, Kill the Monsters, premiered in June at Frameline, the largest LGBTQ film festival in the world.
Two alumni were recognized at the MedFilm Festival in Rome.
Costa Brava Lebanon, a feature film project co-written & directed by alumni Mounia Akl '17 and co-written by Clara Roquet '16, participated in the TorinoFilmLab's Feature Lab, where it won a 4 TFL Co-Production Award and Grant of € 200,000.
Film Alumni Barbara Cigarroa ‘18, Chantel Clark ‘18, Mounia Akl ‘17, Clara Roquet ‘16 and current student Nehir Tuna have been selected for the extremely competitive Screenwriters Lab at the Sundance Institute.
Thirty-seven School of the Arts filmmakers, including writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, and post-supervisors, will showcase at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, which runs January 24 to February 3.
Alumnus George Sikharulidze '17 was selected for the Cannes Film Festival's Cinéfondation residency, which runs through February 2019.
Informer, a series written by alumni Rory Haines ‘11 and Sohrab Noshirvani '12, is now airing on BBC One, and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
The Independent Spirit Awards nominations are out, and six nominations this year recognize Columbia alumni. Assistant Professor Shrihari Sathe '09 has been nominated for the Producers Award. Alumna Nicole Holofcener '88 received the Best Screenplay nomination for Can You Ever Forgive Me?. Alumna Christina Choe '12 received the Best First Screenplay nomination for Nancy, and best supporting actress for J. Cameron Smith for Nancy. Alumni Sandi Tan '00 and Jessica Levin '02 received the Best Documentary nomination for …
According to the film critic Roger Ebert, Yomeddine is a “playful and poignant road movie,” which was a frontrunner for a feel-good-film at the Cannes Film Festival.
