See UNCSA Fourth-Year Films on May 6

Films produced by graduating seniors in the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts will be offered in a free public screening at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday, May 6, in Main Theatre of the ACE Exhibition Complex on the campus at 1533 South Main St. in Winston-Salem.  

“These are the senior thesis films, representing the culmination of four years of intense study and collaboration for our graduating class,” said Film Dean Susan Ruskin. “The day after the screening, these filmmakers will graduate and go out into the world, fully equipped and prepared to begin work on any film or television project.”

The day after the screening, these filmmakers will graduate and go out into the world, fully equipped and prepared to begin work on any film or television project.

Susan Ruskin

Many of the fourth-year films will also be screened for film industry representatives and alumni at the 19th Annual New Cinema Showcase at the Directors Guild of America Theater Complex in Los Angeles on May 11. 

Ruskin said the screenwriters, producers, directors, cinematographers, production designers, editors, sound designers, composers and animators have worked for a year-and-a-half or two years on the eight 15- to 20-minute films. 

“These films are a testament to the quality of our nationally ranked film program,” Ruskin said. “We are proud of the work, and proud of these exceptional filmmakers.”

In addition to the Friday screening of fourth-year films, eight 12- to 15-minute films by third-year students will be shown in a free screening at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, also in Main Theatre. 

Fourth-year films being screened include:

Akela
Written by Keifer Albin, directed by Sean Kelley and produced by Brianna Catalano. As disgust and guilt build within her, Fae struggles to come to terms with her husband’s dark impulses.   

Bad Guy
Written by James Meyer, directed by Stephanie Dowling and produced by Sara Newell. A man struggles with the psychological repercussions of an act that cannot be undone.

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Broken
Written by Michael Angelo Pastore, Dustin Chandler and Cole Townsend McCabe, directed by Wren Culp and produced by Andrea Goocher. A young soldier returns home from the Civil War carrying a terrible secret that threatens to estrange the only family he has left: his mother.  

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Chester 
Written by Dalton Price, directed by Shaun Swift and produced by Matt Kenney. When a furry guy named Chester offers to comfort a lonely girl, he either makes the worst move of his life, or the best one.  

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Looking Good
Written by Neil Soffer and Santiago Marcos, directed by Soffer and produced by Marcos. Clark’s image-oriented family forces him to revisit some old habits during Thanksgiving dinner. To eat or not to eat?

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Moratorium 
Written by Abraham Bengo, directed by Madeliene Rae Painter and produced by Chapman Zon. After failing to realign his brother’s false sense of reality, Nate must come to terms with the fact that the best way to help might just be to relinquish control.

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Parchment Wings
Written by Noelle Aleman, directed by Fernando Medina and produced by Sofia Thomasson. A journey into a fairytale brings comfort to an unlikely pair in the wake of tragedy.

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That Kinda Night 
Written by Chelsey Cummings and Jeremy King, directed by Clayton Witmer and produced by Michael Samilow. Kev always thought there was only one girl for him. When an alien invasion destroys the city, he doesn’t realize how right that is.

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by Lauren Whitaker

April 26, 2016