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
Columbia University’s School of the Arts has an extraordinary presence at the Tribeca Film Festival this year with films from current students, alumni, and faculty all represented.
Film Professor Bette Gordon’s film The Drowning will celebrate its official release on May 10 at IFC Cinema in New York, and will be shown during the 2017 Columbia University Film Festival.
Film Professor Annette Insdorf curated “Cinema and the Holocaust: A Feminine Perspective” this January on behalf of Columbia Global Centers.
School of the Arts’ alumni film And the Whole Sky Fit In the Dead Cow’s Eye won the International Jury Prize for Best Short at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film was written and directed by Francisca Alegría ‘16 and produced by Birgit Gernböeck ‘16.
Faculty member, Ira Deutchman was awarded the first annual Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to the distribution and exhibition of independent films.
Columbia University continues to have strong representation at prestigious film festivals this year.
Meet the Makers is an ongoing interview series highlighting current Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program students and faculty. I recently had the chance to sit down with second-year MFA film student Nathalie Álvarez Mesén to talk about her experiences before Columbia and learn where the inspiration for her impressive body of work comes from.
Recent graduate Clara Roquet ’16 won the 2016 BAFTA US Student Film Award for her short film El Adiós, which she wrote and directed as part of her MFA coursework at the Columbia University Film Program.
Film department professor Ira Deutchman will begin adapting the classic film Hester Street into a musical.
