MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2022

Best of Film at Mason Showcase 


Thank you to everyone who came out to the Best of Film at Mason Showcases on September 2nd at Mason and October 15th at the Washington West Film Festival.  We appreciate your support for our student filmmakers. 
If you were unable to attend the first two Best of Film at Mason 2022 Showcases, you have another opportunity to see these eight student films on October 27th at the Sherwood Community Center in downtown Fairfax.  Attendance is free and no advance registration is required.  See below for more information.  We hope to see you there!

Best of Film at Mason Showcase at the Sherwood Community Center                                      Thursday, October 27, 2022 from 6:00pm-8:00pm                                                                        Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center (3740 Old Lee Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22030)

Visiting Filmmakers Series

The Visiting Filmmakers Series has hosted an exciting lineup of films and filmmakers on campus this semester.  Find out about past events, as well as some recordings, here. 
Register now for the final VFS event of 2022:
Wednesday, November 2
Mahrya MacIntire with The Slow Hustle 
Johnson Center Cinema | 4:30pm-7:00pm 

The Slow Hustle chronicles the still unsolved death of Baltimore police detective Sean Suiter, fatally shot in the line of duty in 2017.  It explores multiple theories about what happened, including whether Suiter's death was murder or suicide.  The film was recently nominated for a 2022 Emmy Award.

Funtastic Cinephone Filmmaking Fest


Professors Amanda Kraus and Lisa Thrasher thank and congratulate all the participants of Film at Mason's inaugural Funtastic Cinephone Filmmaking Fest! 
The Funtastic Cinephone Filmmaking Fest, modeled after 24-hour filmmaking festivals, is a concentrated, collaborative smartphone filmmaking exercise that challenges filmmakers to engage via respectful creative communications with an emphasis on storytelling.
On Saturday, September 17, 2022, nine filmmaking teams were each given a prop, genre, and line of dialogue.  The filmmaking teams created amazing "funtastic" five-minute films in under 3 hours -- one hour to write the scripts, one hour to shoot, and one hour to edit.  The event culminated in a boisterous screening of the films that were awarded by their peers, while everyone enjoyed a delicious, healthy dinner.  

Team 1:  "Shell Shocked" (Comedy)
Tariq Ismail                                                                                                                                        Carlea Jo Maben                                                                                                                                Bailey Kearns                                                                                                                                    Alex Purdy                                                                                                                                          Devon Kuhn    

Team 2:  "Chain Snail" (Mockumentary)
Jorge Sanchez                                                                                                                        Khubab Hassan                                                                                                                          Erica Worthington                                                                                                                      Martin Trompeta                                                                                                                        Jordyn Caldwell

Team 3:  "Back from the Dead" (Horror/Thriller)
Dominique Dargan                                                                                                                      Chris Vitello                                                                                                                            Andrew Shaffer                                                                                                                          Ethan Ludden                                                                                                                            Aiden Morris

Team 4:  "Sea You Later" (Comedy)
Rachel DePratti                                                                                                                            Liam Tipler                                                                                                                                  Evan Williams                                                                                                                          Lauren White                                                                                                                            Jaiden Hubbard

Team 5:  "The Starfish Job" (Mockumentary)
Damien Krzesinski                                                                                                                  Sydnee Jiggetts                                                                                                                      Raphael Brown                                                                                                                        Sabrina Beach                                                                                                                            Macy Bass

Team 6:  "Replica" (Horror/Thriller)
Archana Menawat                                                                                                                    Valeria Alva-Nino                                                                                                                      Anirys Colon                                                                                                                         Shannon Harrel                                                                                                                        Carson Marency

Team 7: "$nail" (Comedy)
Cristian Cabral Rios                                                                                                                 Cecilia Ohanian                                                                                                                        Jonah Manibusan                                                                                                                          Mya S. Kenton                                                                                                                          Sanjay Nagar

Team 8:  "Stand Up" (Horror/Thriller)
KeAndre Foster                                                                                                                          Sujay Khona                                                                                                                              Ashlyn King                                                                                                                              Friend Rogers                                                                                                                          Dennis Serrano

Team 9:  "Class Pet" (Mockumentary)
Madison Koren                                                                                                                            Riley Ater                                                                                                                                  Naomi Ho                                                                                                                                    Alene Boghosian                                                                                                                          Cullen Livingstone

Alumni and Student Achievement


Congratulations to FAVS alumna Jasmine Gates (’22) and current FAVS student Alonzo Conyers (‘23) for winning Capital Emmy Student Production Awards 2021-2022!  Gates' What We Leave Behind received the Capital Emmy for Fiction - Short Form, and Conyers' Dessana won for Non-Fiction - Short Form.  Conyers' crew included the following Film at Mason alumni:  Elissa Padula (Editor/Associate Producer), L.J. Garcia (Editor/Associate Producer), and Daniel Taylor (Sound Designer). 

Faculty and Staff Achievement 
Professor Monica L. Bellais has been elected to a third Council term for the Writers Guild of America, East.  To learn more, click here.
Professor KJ Mohr guest curated the "Recent Films from Spain" film series currently running at the National Gallery of Art.  Programmed in conjunction with the exhibition Sargent and Spain, this series aims to highlight current practices and approaches to production by Spanish filmmakers interested in fiction, documentary, and the multitude of creative modes in between.  The series runs through December 3, 2022.  To learn more, click here.
Professor May Santiago curated the "Horrorspiria Presents: Queer Fears" film screenings at Suns Cinema in DC this month.  Professor Santiago's "Horrorspiria," a horror research podcast, is presenting three screenings in October, including The Lost Boys on October 5, Alucarda on October 19, and Les Saignantes on October 26.  She will be introducing each film and leading post-screening discussions.  To purchase tickets, click here. 
FAVS staff member and film historian/curator Anjuli M. Singh will be giving a series of public talks on film history for the Loudoun County Public Library.  Her first presentation, "Universal Horror: The Studio (and Stories) Behind Hollywood's Greatest Horror Films," will be held on October 24.  For more information, click here.

Film Opportunities and Resources   


  • Summer 2023 Study Abroad Opportunity: Harry Potter in Literature and Film -- Attend the course information session on October 27th by registering here. 
  • Shondaland and Netflix Producers Inclusion Initiative Program – This virtual 8-week program trains up-and-coming Producers, UPMs, Supervisors, First ADs, and others from underrepresented communities (e.g., BIPOC), to work as line producers within a studio system. 
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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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