MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
MAY 2024

Congratulations Class of 2024! 




Mauricio Alejandro Torres Alarcon
Jude Abdulwahab Alzughaibi
John T. Barnes
Alexander E. Charlton
Lily A. Damron
Kyrec Shunsen Day
Uris Delgado
Rachel DePratti
Ashley M. Esty
Stephanie M. Faura
Roberto Ferreira De Araujo
Ryan Foster-Baird
James John Fredrickson
Christopher N. Garcia-Martinez
Brian P. Hearsey Jr.
Sarah Heaton
Lee Wayne Hou
Alexander Charles Ianson
Sydnee Renee Jiggetts
Sae-Jong Jordan
Carl Severt Julin
Damien Krzesinski
Devon Kuhn
Talynn Brooke Leach
Carlos Frederick Lenz
Lance Christian Santiago Maldonado
Vincent Luc McGarry
Archana Menawat
Jason Leodan Monteflores
Carson Robert Morency
Amber N. Morse
Sidney L. Mullins
Tyson Samuel Nader
Panah Esfandiar Neshati
Spencer Duncan Phillips
Jessilee Danielle Dorothy Pollet
Claudiu Ciprian Rogojan
Vasile Daniel Rogojan
Casey Will Ruken
Dennis Edward Serrano
Eugene Ward II
Olivia Clarica Williams
Daniel Rafic Zaitoun

Mason Film Festival 

Thank you to everyone who came out for the annual Mason Film Festival. Congratulations to all students on your screenings, pitches, and staged readings. Your work is inspiring, and we look forward to seeing what you create next.

The festival is made possible because of the hard work of Film at Mason staff and faculty: we appreciate all of you. We also thank our Film at Mason Advisory Board, FAVS alumni, and film community members who participated on our juries. We are grateful for the time you spent watching student films and providing them with supportive feedback.

A Successful Fundraiser 

We are happy to announce that we raised $6,080 to go toward Film at Mason scholarships for the coming academic year. Thank you to everyone who contributed gifts, especially to Willy Meaux, who initiated our successful match challenge.

Thank you to our generous supporters of Film at Mason 

Gifts are recognized from August 2023 - May 2024
Producer ($2,500 and above)
CAF American Donor Fund
GMU Alumnus
Willy Meaux
Director ($1,000-$2,499)
Andrew D. Reaser
 
Leading Role ($100-$999)
L. Whitman Brown
Cynthia and Thomas Judge
Mack and Paulette Miller
Melissa J. Houghton
Michael J. Howard
Maryam and Hamid Kasmai
Mr. Rick Davis and Ms. Julie Thompson
John Kelly

Supporting Role (up to $99)
Colleen K. Arthur
 Emily and Bill Rusch
 Julia Decker
 Kiley M. Kraskouskas
Lewis and Anne Wright
Michael and Amanda Snellings
Ronald J. Sanchez
Samantha Beach Sinagra
Johnna Johnson 

Registration Reminder


Registration for Fall 2024 courses has begun! If you have questions or concerns regarding your schedule or course offerings, reach out to your Academic Advisor, Maddie Portnoy, at mportnoy@gmu.edu

Fall 2024 Course Spotlight 

Please click here to see more courses available in Fall 2024.
FAVS 366 Video Production for Social Change
Monday, 1:30-4:10pm | AB 1007
Professor Rebekah Wingert-Jabi
This video production course emulates a professional production environment where student teams, under the instructor’s supervision, produce effective pieces for local community-based non-profit organizations. Students will assess clients’ goals, develop a creative concept and strategy, and a statement of work. Developing professionalism and collaboration, students will see their work reach beyond the classroom, speaking to broad and also specific audiences.
FAVS 399 Elections, Issues, and Films
Thursday, 1:30-4:10 | Planet 224
Professor Samirah Alkassim
In this class, students explore fiction and non-fiction films that reflect major concerns during an American presidential election year. These concerns connect to the foundational mythology of American democracy and are reflected in issues such as health care, lobbies, immigration reform, climate change, surveillance, and civil and human rights. Films include James DeMonaco’s The Purge: Election Year, Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, Laura Poitras’ Citizen Four, Ava DuVernay’s 13th, and Jose Antonio Vargas’ Documented.
FAVS 399 Documentary Film Editing
Monday, 1:30-4:10pm | IN 233
Professor Maura Ugarte
This three-credit course focuses on the art and craft of editing a documentary film. We will study editing theory, current trends in documentary, ethical considerations, how to shape documentary stories, and how to approach different modes of documentary storytelling. We will also discuss technical considerations such as workflow, incorporating archival material, and using sound and visual effects. The course primarily uses Adobe software.
FAVS 399 Color Correction
Tuesday, 4:30-7:10pm | AB 2001
Professor Russell Santos
In this course, students will learn The Art and Technique of Color Correction, which will further their artistic skills, whether they're a cinematographer, editor, or director, making their finished image stand out with a cinematic and polished look. They will use the Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel to enhance their skills and quickly master the tricks of the trade.

Student Academy

Awards Application

The Student Academy Awards (SAA) recognizes and honors student filmmakers who demonstrate excellence in the creation of motion pictures. By awarding these outstanding achievements, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences strives to support and inspire emerging filmmakers and to foster growth and education in the art and science of motion pictures. 

The deadline for the Student Academy Awards is June 1, 2024. Get your project ready for submission and read the rules carefully.
For more information, visit: https://filmfreeway.com/StudentAcademyAwards. 

New York Indie Shorts
Awards Competition

The New York Indie Shorts Awards Competition’s goal is to find talented filmmakers who have something to communicate through art and to help them promote their work. 

Students can submit a student I.D. to receive a student discount.
Final Deadline: June 22, 2024
For more information and to apply, click here. 

Faculty Achievement 

Professor G. Chesler has been awarded a Regional Arts and Culture Council grant for post-production on their documentary feature, Connection | Isolation, which focuses on trans lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find updates on the film’s upcoming festival schedule at this Instagram and website. The poster is designed by Grey Copeland, who graduated this Spring. Congratulations, Grey!
Professor Benjamin Steger’s music documentary series, Vibrations, is screening at film festivals. Vibrations: Dharma Punks is at the Bali International Film Festival, June 1-7 and the Lighthouse International Film Festival in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, June 5-9. Dharma Punks debuted at the Kansas City Film Fest International in April and recently screened at the Barebones International Film Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Vibrations: Offerings had its North American debut at the Harlem International Film Festival, May 16-26 and its European debut at the Mediawave International Film and Music Gathering in Budapest, Hungary, May 15-20. Vibrations: Offerings was awarded “Winning Episode” at the Harlem International Film Festival and can be temporarily streamed on their website.
Professor Tommy Britt contributed a chapter, "What is Television?", to the new book, Adapting Television and Literature. His chapter uses Sartre as a starting point to examine Twin Peaks and Too Old to Die Young as existentialist crime dramas and auteur television. He also presented a new paper about horror films and mental health at Nightmare24 at the Northern School of Art.
Professor May Santiago published her article, “The Global Dimensions of Online Fandom: Caution! Zine and the Killers,” in Rock Music Studies (30 April 2024). The piece details the inception and history of Caution! Zine, a physical and online fanzine dedicated to the Killers that launched during the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic. See the article here.

Alumni Spotlight

Kyle Finnegan’s (Film, ‘17) short documentary, “MSG: Mysterious Savory Grains,” is streaming on PBS through May 31. Find more information at Visiting Filmmakers Series. Kyle debuted the film in Fall 2023, at a screening at Mason honoring his Young Alumni Commissioning Project Award. Since then, it has screened at numerous film festivals. Follow Kyle’s adventures at his website.
Tony Marquez (Film, ‘12) is featured in an article in ShoutOutLA; a lifestyle publication based in Los Angeles.
Damon Beirne (Film, ‘16) has started a post-production company called Post Transition Services. His company provides “Intelligent solutions to creative problems.”
https://www.post-transition.com/

Film Opportunities and Resources   

Festival Submissions:  

Job Opportunities: 
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We want to hear from you! If you have news you would like to contribute, please send it to film@gmu.edu. We are looking for regional film events and updates from Film at Mason alumni. Keep up-to-date on all the current Film at Mason news at film.gmu.edu.

Film and Video Studies
College of Visual and Performing Arts
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Fairfax, VA 22030
703-993-3287 | film@gmu.edu
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