The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) awarded CSUN’s 2011-12 senior film project students with a $50,000 grant for the 16th consecutive year. “It’s a huge help,” said Jaclyn Moore, film production major. “I don’t know what we would do without it. It would be a struggle.” In addition to the grant, each student involved in the Department of Cinema and Television Arts’ (CTVA) senior film project must raise at least $1,500 themselves. “Fundraising is difficult enough as it is to… Read more

The CTVA department held their annual senior film showcase at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood.   The event was hosted by actress Jenna Elfman, who is best known for her role in television series “Dharma & Greg,” and actor Louis Gossett who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” The films chosen to appear that evening were judged by a panel of professionals. Four senior student directors had… Read more

Eight CSUN students took home honors at the annual California State University (CSU) Media Arts Festival in early November. The festival, which took place at CSU Fullerton Nov. 6, recognizes the work of students in media arts programs throughout the CSU system. Jamie Yukich, a senior film production major, won for his film, “Sheeps and Wolves.” “The short idea is that two friends decide to go rob an ex-classmate’s home during his funeral,” he said of the dark comedy, which… Read more

Two CSUN alumni presented their documentary films Friday night in the CSUN Cinematheque. Kate Ryan and Paul Laverack are both 2007 graduates of the Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA) program. Laverack’s documentary, “Survive the Night,” chronicled the experience of CSUN students as they spent the night on campus in November 2009 to get a glimpse of the struggles that the homeless endure. Students slept in boxes and bundled up in sleeping bags as they endured the cold. In the documentary,… Read more

A professor has chosen to screen two CSUN student documentaries Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Cinematheque at the Armer Theater in Manzanita Hall. Maria Elena de las Carreras, adjunct professor for the Cinema, Arts and Television Department, wanted CSUN alumni who have made documentaries to come speak to the students in her documentary class about what it means to make a documentary and how to go about the process. “I choose documentaries where I can have the… Read more

    Rachel G. Blavin, 23, graduated in the summer of 2007 with a major in CTVA. Blavin and her team were awarded the first place award in the Children’s category for the short-film “Turbo” at the 31st Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Television Awards. First place winners receive a $2,000 award. The team included Blavin, a former CSUN- Cinema & Television Arts student and former students of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Awards were given to the producers… Read more

Ten CSUN students will be traveling to Shanghai to participate in the 2010 World Expo this summer. Peter Grego, the theatre department chair, said on Tuesday evening, they received confirmation from the U.S. producers that the CSUN students will be performing with their Chinese sister university, Shanghai Normal University, at the USA Pavilion. “Being invited to perform at the World Expo is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and as a graduating senior this is the best opportunity that I… Read more

The Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA) department has received an anonymous $1 million donation and scholarship fund to honor an alumnus. The announcement was made on Feb. 1 by the chair of the CTVA department. The $1 million endowment and scholarship fund was made anonymously to honor CSUN alumni Scott M. Weiss, who died in a car accident in 2008, according to a CSUN press release. “Everyone is really proud of the fact that the department has received such a… Read more

“It was incredible.” So said Terri Ann Driggs when asked about her experience at the Cannes Film Festival. This past summer, CSUN had two very fortunate students, out of 120, who were able to actively participate in the Festival; Driggs and Kaileigh Martin, a senior CTVA major. The Cannes Film Festival is more than festival; it is also a market, where most motion pictures are sold. This is where people go to sell and promote movies. The American Pavilion (AMPAV)… Read more