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MONTHLY NEWSLETTERAUGUST 2022
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Welcome Back
As the world around us continues to change, we remain dedicated to the process of seeing and representing, sharing and understanding. Again this semester, we encourage everyone to participate this process as artists, allies, and advocates for a hopeful future.
The process can be complicated, as well as joyful and exhilarating. It brings with it multiple contexts and can take us in myriad directions. These contexts and directions can be narrow and expansive, local and universal, technical and cultural and emotional all at once Where, we might wonder, is filmmaking headed? How will artists and audiences connect? In an interview with Sight and Sound, Chloe Zhao observes, "The democratisation of technology changes the way we respond to images, and that’s a natural progression.” She goes on to say,
The last round of great filmmakers that we know grew up on that type of collective experience. Everybody’s got a story of their first time at the theatre with their parents or whatever. So I’m wondering about the generation that grew up on small screens, on the internet, without that same attachment. Does that prevent them being better filmmakers? Or will that just lead to a new type of filmmaking?
We can continue to ponder what we mean by "better" (who defines quality, who assigns value, who benefits from these decisions?). And we can imagine and put into practice a "new type of filmmaking." Knowing history, honoring our heroes, and appreciating conventions, we can look forward too. We can invent. We can create improved working environments, embrace challenges, and make new friends.
Looking forward, Film at Mason offers in-person and online courses across a range of topics, from fiction filmmaking and documentary to editing and sound, cinematography, producing, screenwriting, and career development. And we've got exciting community events planned, including our Ice Cream Social and Production Fair on September 2 and the ever inspiring Visiting Filmmakers Series.
We're happy to announce that Evan Bowen is now our fulltime Post-Production Coordinator.
As you plan your semester, please check out our resources: in addition to our Film and Video Studies website, you'll find information, forms and forums, and events on our FAVS Blackboard site.9/2 Best of Film at Mason Showcase
4pm, Johnson Center Cinema: Free and open to the public. Students: Register on Mason 360
Public: Register here
9/21 Visiting Filmmakers Series: Leola Calzolai-Stewart, Kiley Kraskouskas, and Rachell Shapiro, The American Diplomat
6pm, Johnson Center Cinema.
Mason ID holders register here, public, please register here.
We'll announce more events throughout the semester. Keep up to date with these and other opportunities by checking your Mason email, visiting our website and Blackboard, and liking us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
We can't wait to see your new type of filmmaking.
Sincerely,
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Upcoming Department Events
Film at Mason Welcome Back Ice Cream Social and Production Fair
Friday, September 2 | 2:00pm – 4:00pm
The Hub / Corner Pocket
Join us for the Film at Mason Ice Cream Social and Production Fair! New and returning students are invited to mingle and enjoy ice cream provided by SCOOPS2U. Learn about upcoming projects and sign up to work on Film at Mason student films. All film and CVPA students are welcome!
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Best of Film at Mason Showcase
Friday, September 2 | 4:00pm-6:00pm
Johnson Center Cinema
The annual Best of Film at Mason Showcase returns this year with a mixture of innovative shorts created by current students and alumni ranging from documentary, fiction, comedy, and drama. This showcase is free and open to the public. For more information and parking instructions, visit our website at film.gmu.edu.
Congratulations to the students and films that were selected by our faculty:
My Mother’s Daughter, Jennifer Tu
Transitions, Nathan Ridings
White Mirror, Taj Kokayi
Perspectives, Sujay Khona
Tri-Hard, Shawn Malangyaon
Fourth Block, Tiffany Vu
Untitled Mom Doc, Daniel Taylor
Even in Death, Jasmine Gates
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Visiting Filmmaker Series
The Visiting Filmmakers Series is back this semester with an impressive lineup of documentary films. Join us for these innovative, provocative films and bring your friends and family. All events are free and open to the public!
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Monday, October 3
Jessica Beshir with Faya Dayi
Johnson Center Cinema | 6:00pm-9:00pm
Jessica Beshir's poetic, evocative film presents a journey into the rituals of khat, a leaf that Sufi Muslims have chewed for centuries for religious meditations and Ethiopia's most lucrative cash crop.
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Thursday, October 13
Ashley O’Shay with Unapologetic
Johnson Center Cinema | 6:00pm-8:00pm
Unapologetic illuminates the love underpinning the anger and frustration that comes with being Black, queer women in the US, and elevates those who are most often leading the way while being denied the spotlight.
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The Slow Hustle chronicles the still unsolved death of Baltimore police detective Sean Suiter, fatally shot in 2017 while in the line of duty, and explores the ongoing speculation about what really happened that day.
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New Film at Mason Office Operations for Fall
Main Office Hours | College Hall C100
Monday, Wednesday: Online, 9:00am-5:00pm
Tuesday: Online, 9:00am- 1:00pm
Thursday, Friday: In-person, 9:00am-5:00pm
Equipment Cage | Art and Design Buidling AB 1008
Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm
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On-Campus Videographer Job Opportunities
Are you looking for an on-campus job this fall?
Three GMU departments are hiring part-time student videographers. This is a great opportunity for you to gain experience, build your portfolio, and get paid. Apply for any of the positions below on Handshake. Pay rates range from $11-12.50/hour.
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Ties That Bind Benefit and Film Screening
The Artistic Fuel Foundation is hosting a “Ties That Bind Benefit,” an event that includes an outdoor film screening in support of art therapy services for the Uvalde, Texas community.
The event will take place on Saturday, August 27th from 6:00pm-10:00pm at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg, VA. Interested participants can purchase tickets or make donations at https://www.artisticfuel.com/ties-that-bind
More information on the event is below.
Part 1: Art Activities, Music, Food: From 6:00-7:00 PM, A variety of art wellness activities will be provided for children and adults by local art therapists. Due to the difficult content presented by the panel and in the movie, it is suggested that families with young children do not attend the later portion of the event. Live music and food trucks will also be available during the earlier part of the event.
Part 2: Panel Discussion and Film Showing: At 7:00 PM, a panel of speakers will discuss art therapy and collective trauma before the film showing. The panel includes Dr. E. Scott Gellar, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Virginia Tech and creator of the concept of “Active Caring”; Raquel Farrel-Kirk, who worked as an art therapist supporting the Parkland, Florida community; and producers of the film, Mass, Dylan Matlock and JP Ouellette. Focused on the process of healing, the conversation will be moderated by Cynthia Young, Executive Director of AATA; Mass will screen outdoors following the discussion. Attendees are asked to bring blankets and chairs.
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Summer Scream Fest at George Mason Regional Library
George Mason Regional Library is hosting their summer film series "Summer Scream Fest" for the month of August. Check out the rest of their summer lineup taking place every Tuesday evening of this month. The George Mason Regional Library is located down the street from George Mason University at 7001 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003.
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March on Washington
Film Festival
September 28-October 2The 10th anniversary of the March on Washington Film Festival is happening September 28th - October 2nd. The flagship festival is held every year in Washington, DC, and serves as a national platform to tell, celebrate, and increase awareness of the untold events and icons and foot soldiers, known and unsung, of the Civil Rights Movement. The Festival uses film screenings as a platform for panel discussions featuring filmmakers, academics, and activists and brings together an audience that is diverse in age, class, and ethnicity. For more information, visit the festival website at https://www.marchonwashingtonfilmfestival.org/.
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Professor KJ Mohr is curating a Spanish film series for the National Gallery of Art film program to accompany an exhibition of John Singer Sargent's work, Sargent and Spain. It will start on October 2 with a series of eight recent narrative and documentary films featuring different areas of Spain and Spanish culture. In December, the series will end with two archival films highlighting flamenco dancer and Romani actor Carmen Amaya, Maria de la O and Los Tarantos.
This Fall, Professor Mohr is teaching a special topics class, FAVS 399 Curating and Programming for the Moving Image. This undergraduate seminar explores the rich history and current practice of independent exhibition of moving images. Student curators learn to plan, promote, and budget film festivals. They also host screenings, work with archives, distributors, and artists, and craft programs that explore themes and subjects of interest to them. There are still seats available: register today!
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Professor Russell Santos was recently hired as a Local 700 Union Editor. His first project was working as editor on the upcoming special, “Hip Hop Nutcracker,” which will premiere on Disney + this holiday season.
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Professor Nikyatu Jusu recently traveled to Martha’s Vineyard on August 5th to take part in a panel for the 20th Annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. She participated in “Prime Video Hosts Visionary Women: A Conversation with the New Wave of Filmmaking Voices” alongside Mariama Diallo (Writer/Director of Master) and Yara Shahidi (Actor, Producer, and 2022 Harvard Grad). According to this Deadline article, “The conversation between these three remarkable women dove deep into Nikyatu Jusu and Mariama Diallo’s journey to the director’s chair, pushing genre boundaries, and the cultural discourse illustrated in their storytelling.”
In addition, Professor Nikyatu Jusu’s film Nanny will screen at Toronto International Film Festival taking place September 8-18, 2022. The official schedule will be released on August 23rd.
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Film Opportunities and Resources
Festival Submissions Programs, Scholarships, and Workshops
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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
4400 University Dr. MSN 5D8
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-993-3287 | film@gmu.edu
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