27th Columbia University Film Festival Takes Place May 2-8, 2014

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

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Published on Friday, 02 May 2014 21:06

Written by Brad Balfour

(Co-directors Chris Buck & Jen Lee at premiere)

Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program and the Film Society of Lincoln Center  co-present the Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF) -- a week of screenings, dramatic readings and special events focused on students or graduates of Columbia's film school running from May 2-8, 2014.

The celebration continues in Los Angeles, June 17-20, 2014;  events to be announced. This marks the third year that the Festival -- in its 27th edition -- is co-presented by the Film Society.

Columbia University’s School of the Arts Film Program is one of the most prestigious in the country and boasts a graduate list that includes 

• Jennifer Lee (Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph)
• Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty)
• Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said)
• Kimberly Peirce (Carrie, Boys Don’t Cry)
• Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia)
• Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right)

Its esteemed faculty has included:

• Milos Forman
• Martin Scorsese
• Emir Kusturica
• Paul Schrader

Chair of the Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program, Ira Deutchman, stated,  “Each year, the Festival is an opportunity to take a step back and marvel at the amazing body of work that has been created by our students. We are very pleased that the Film Society is co-presenting the festival with us again this year... There is no other film festival anywhere that showcases student work with such accomplishment, ambition and diversity.”

“Supporting emerging filmmakers is an important focus for the Film Society," said Film Society of Lincoln Center's Executive Director Lesli Klainberg. "We are delighted to welcome back the Columbia University Film Festival and their talented new student filmmakers.”

The Film Program at Columbia University School of the Arts offers students the opportunity to go to film school at one of the world’s great universities, with a faculty of working professionals esteemed in both Hollywood and the independent film community. New York City, creative capital of the United States, is its home, affording access to exceptional talent pools and locations, major research collections and the constant opportunity to see films from every country and era.

The Film MFA programs -- in Screenwriting/Directing and in Creative Producing -- are among the world’s premier training grounds for the next generation of filmmakers. Alumni of the school have won numerous awards, including top prizes at Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Berlin and the Academy Awards. 

The MA Film Studies program and the undergraduate Film Studies major give students a unique opportunity to study film history and theory in the midst of an active filmmaking community. In addition to graduate degrees in Film, Columbia University School of the Arts awards MFA degrees in Theatre Arts, Visual Arts and Writing.

The School is a thriving, diverse community of artists from around the world, with a faculty composed of acclaimed and internationally renowned artists, film, and theatre directors; writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction; playwrights, producers, critics, and scholars.

Frozen director Jennifer Lee (’05) will receive this year’s Andrew Sarris Award, named for the late School of the Arts Film Program professor and world-renowned critic and theorist, which honors outstanding service by and artistic achievement of distinguished Film Program alumni.

Lee grew up in the 1970s and '80s in Rhode Island, surrounded by hairspray, Irocs, and heavy metal. Her love of storytelling and literature led her to the University of New Hampshire, where she earned a BA in English in 1992.

From there she moved to New York City and built a career in book publishing. Saturdays at Lincoln Center introduced her to the films of Agnès Varda, the Coen Brothers, and Atom Egoyan. Inspired, she made her first short film and fell in love with visual storytelling.

She entered Columbia University School of the Arts’ graduate Film Program in 2001. In 2002, she received the William Goldman Award for excellence in screenwriting and the Kathryn Parlan Hearst Scholarship honoring women screenwriters. Her script Hinged on Stars won top prize at the 2004 Columbia University Film Festival and launched her career. She graduated in 2005 with an MFA in Film, and in 2006 she got her first film option for her script The Way Between.

Her next film, The Roundup, was optioned by Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way. In 2010, she moved her family across the country to begin work on Wreck-It Ralph for Walt Disney Animation Studios with fellow Columbia graduate Phil Johnston (’04). The film went on to earn an Oscar® nomination for Best Animated Feature and won the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature Screenplay.

As she was finishing her work on Wreck-It Ralph, Jennifer was tapped to write the screenplay for Disney’s Frozen. She also directed the film with animation veteran Chris Buck. The film has earned over one billion dollars at the box office and won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award, and two Academy Awards® for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Lee currently lives in Los Angeles with her 10-year-old daughter, Agatha.

The annual Andrew Sarris Award winner is selected by current School of the Arts Film Program students. 

Past recipients include

• Adam Davidson (’91, The Lunch Date, Six Feet Under, Lost,Community)
• Malia Scotch Marmo (’88, Rafina, Madeline, Hook, Once Around)
• Greg Mottola (’91,Super Bad)
• Albert Berger (’83, Little Miss Sunshine)
• Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (’95 and ’94, American Splendor)
• Kathryn Bigelow (’81, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty)
• Lisa Cholodenko (’97, The Kids Are All Right)
• Sabrina Dhawan (’02, Monsoon Wedding)
• Simon Kinberg (’03, Sherlock Holmes)
• Kimberly Peirce (’96, Carrie, Boys Don’t Cry)
• James Mangold (’99, Wolverine, Walk the Line)
• Nicole Holofcener (’88, Enough Said, Please Give).

Columbia Film faculty member Frank Pugliese (House of Cards) will lead a discussion on the new so-called “Golden Age of Television” and how aspiring artists can use their skills and talent to break into the world of TV.

Panelists will include accomplished Columbia alumni with a diverse range of experience working in television as writers, directors, and producers. The event, which is free to the public, will be held Tuesday, May 6, at 7pm at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and will also be streamed live.

The Festival is the annual premiere of over 40 thesis short films and feature screenplays by MFA students in the Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program. Like Adam Davidson’s film, many of the films premiered over the past 25 years have gone on to win top awards and honors at prestigious festivals worldwide. 

Columbia University Film Festival
May 2-8, 2014

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