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| MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
AUGUST 2025
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Welcome Back
Greetings, filmmakers. The new semester is here, and we're thrilled to welcome new and returning students to our creative community. We hope you had productive and restorative summers. As the world around us continues to evolve, we appreciate your commitment to sharing your ideas and questions. Your voices matter now more than ever.
This Fall promises to be exceptional. We're offering a range of courses designed to challenge and inspire you, from Advanced Fiction Filmmaking to Documentary Filmmaking to Screenwriting: Feature Films, and more. We’re also happy to welcome new faculty: Abir Abyad (Intro to World Cinema), Alexis Hithe and Mark Moore (Film Art), Joey Robbins and Wes Hunt (Global Horror), and Rebekah Wingert-Jabi (Assistant Professor in Digital Production and Post-Production).
Beyond the classroom, we’ve scheduled a series of excellent events, including the Ice Cream Social and Production Fair, (Sep 5) where you can connect with fellow filmmakers; Best of Film at Mason Showcase (various dates and locations), where we’ll celebrate the incredible work of our student filmmakers; and our Visiting Filmmakers Series, featuring innovative artists who want to meet you and share their experiences. We can't wait to see you and the stories you'll bring to life this semester.
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Welcome Back Ice Cream Social and Production Fair
The Film and Video Studies Ice Cream Social and Production Fair will take place on Friday, September 5 in Dewberry Hall at 11am.
This year's Ice Cream Social and Production Fair invites new and current students to mingle and enjoy some ice cream. Whether you are a Film major or not, we encourage anyone interested in film to join us. Listen to our directing students pitch their films, discover what crew positions are available, learn about university resources for your film projects, and sign up to receive cast and crew calls.
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George Mason Community Welcome Events
for New and Returning Students
Part-Time Job Fair | Wednesday, August 27 @ 11 AM-2pm
On-campus and local employers with part-time jobs are seeking Mason students to fill open positions. Meet them in Dewberry Hall on the lower level of the Johnson Center to learn more about job and internship opportunities on campus or in the local area.
IVth Night | Thursday, August 28 @ 6-9pm
George Mason’s annual fall carnival featuring inflatables, free food, giveaways, DIYs, and the 2024 IVth Night t-shirt.
College Colors Day | Friday, August 29 @ 11am–2pm
College Colors Day is celebrated nationally each year with fans across the country showing their school pride by wearing their favorite college colors. For us, we are Bold and wear our Green and Gold! College Colors Day for George Mason also kicks off another year of Spirit Friday's where the George Mason community don themselves in Green and Gold every Friday.
Get Connected Fair | Wednesday, September 3 @ 11am–2pm
Visit with Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and University offices to discover how to get involved at George Mason.
Transfer Nation | Wednesday, September 4 @ 3-5pm
Welcome to Campus Transfer Patriots! Come meet other transfer students, make a vision board, enjoy some popcorn, and prepare for the fall semester at Transfer Nation. Stop by for a bit or stay the whole time.
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College Hall Construction
and Detours
As you return to campus, you will notice construction projects outside College Hall and around the Performing Arts and Music Theater buildings. The College Hall door, outside C100, is locked. And the bridge connecting the Performing Arts Building to the Music Theater Building is blocked off for renovations and repairs. These projects will be ongoing into October.
You can access our offices in College Hall by two alternate entrances:
1. Enter through Buchanan Hall. Take the stairs or elevator to Floor 1 and take the back hallway to College Hall.
2. Enter through the Music Theater Building. Go up the stairs or elevator to Floor 2. Go down the hall, past the window walkway near the CVPA Dean's Office. Then, take the stairs or elevator (to the right of the hall) down to Level 1, where you will see Film offices.
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New Advising Scheduling Platform
If you’d like to connect with your academic advisor, Maddie Portnoy, please schedule an appointment by logging into the new platform Patriot Connect.
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Canvas is Here
Canvas is now the official Learning Management System for George Mason University. Access to Blackboard ended July 15, 2025.
Canvas is available at https://canvas.gmu.edu. Film and Video Studies has a Student Community Course, which is similar to our Organization that was found in Blackboard. You should see the Community Course listed on your Dashboard. Take some time and read through all the resources. You will find information on production policies, equipment rental processes, lab hours and locations, advising hours, actors database, and more.
If you have questions on how to use the Community Course or need assistance finding it, please reach out to film@gmu.edu.
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We Are Hiring
Looking for an on-campus job for the Fall 2025 semester?
Film and Video Studies has a paid Alumni Relations and Data Management Internship position available.
Overview of Internship:
The Alumni Relations Intern will work closely with Film and Video Studies to advance alumni engagement. This position is focused on outreach and data management to build and foster community among the Department’s alumni. The intern will work in several areas of arts management including communication and marketing, development, event planning, and governance.
The internship will provide exposure and professional experience in:
- Alumni Relations
- Development and Fundraising
- Arts Management
- Data Analysis
- Communication
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Best of Film at Mason Showcase
The 2025 Best of Film at Mason Showcase is on Friday, September 12 at 4pm in the JC Cinema. Free and open to the public.
Best of Film at Mason is a showcase of recent notable and award-winning films created by current students and Alumni.
The showcase will travel to Washington West Film Festival as well as Mason Exhibitions Arlington. Stay tuned for more information.
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Visiting Filmmakers Series
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Visiting Filmmakers Series: Heather Lanza, Co-Producer of The Wild Robot
Hosted by Mel Jones
Tuesday, September 9 at 1:30 pm | Monson Grand Tier III (3rd floor of CFA)
Free and open to the public
*Limited seats available
**This event will be in person while Heather will join us virtually from LA. Attendees will not be able to join via Zoom.**
For more information: vfs.gmu.edu/events/17163
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Visiting Filmmakers Series and the Office of Alumni Relations Presents:
Mohammed Saffouri with Touchline
Thursday, September 18 at 4:00pm | Johnson Center Cinema
Free and open to the public
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Visiting Filmmakers Series: Daniel Junge with I Was Born This Way
Monday, November 10, 2025 | Johnson Center Cinema
Monday, November 10
1:30 pm - Class visit: FAVS 375 Fiction Film Directing
AB 1007 | *limited seats available
5:00 pm - Visiting Filmmakers Series: Daniel Junge with I Was Born This Way
A film screening followed by a Q&A discussion with Daniel Junge
JC Cinema | Free and open to the public
Tuesday, November 11
10:30 am - Masterclass with Daniel Junge
Location: TBD | Free and open to the public
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CVPA Young Commissioners Project
George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts Young Alumni Commissioning Project provides crucial support for our alumni’s continued artistic development. CVPA will issue up to three grants to recent alumni to support the creation of a new artistic work. The Project is made possible by a generous bequest from the estate of Linda E. Gramlich for the support of young artists, and by donors to George Mason’s Giving Day, including Shugoll Research.
Recipients may receive up to $5,000 in commissioning funds, to be used at the artist’s discretion to cover project-related expenses, including but not limited to artist fees, licensing fees, equipment rental/purchase, and travel expenses. In addition, recipients will receive venue, production, and marketing support for a public presentation of the work.
Applicant must be a graduate of the College of Visual and Performing Arts from the class of 2014 and after.
-Alumni having completed undergraduate and/or graduate degrees and certificate holders are eligible, as are double majors and recognized minors.
-Collaborative teams are eligible if one or more CVPA alumni have a key creative role in the project.
-Current George Mason staff are eligible, even if they are currently enrolled in a degree program, as long as they have also completed an undergraduate degree, graduate degree, or certificate at George Mason.
Application Deadline: September 5, 2025
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Professor G Chesler’s film Connection | Isolation will screen at the 2025 Virginia Queer Film Festival, taking place on September 12–14 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
Connection | Isolation will screen on September 14th at 4:30pm in Old Dominion University’s University Theatre.
For more information and tickets, visit: vaqff.org
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Professor Tommy Britt is the commissioning editor for a new academic journal, Cinégraphia: Journal of Literature, Film, and Other Media, published by the University of Sydney. The inaugural issue includes his new essay on the television series Utopia and Station Eleven. The journal launch was held during the Caméra-Stylo 6 Conference in Sydney, where Britt presented a new paper on Steven Soderbergh and Colman Hough, and he also chaired two other panels; the Identity / Selfhood panel and the Empathy + Technology panel.
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Staff Spotlight
Cory Mason’s first feature-length production, Take From Me, premieres August 26th on Amazon and Fandango. Take From Me, a suspenseful horror-thriller, follows John, a grieving man, whose life is upended after he sells his farmhouse to a mysterious young woman. When a town resident goes missing, the local police captain suspects a sinister presence in the community.
Read more here.
For more information and behind the scenes footage, visit: takefrommefilm.com.
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Film Opportunities and Resources
Festival Submissions:
Jobs and Internships:
Jobs
- Media Producer, WTJU Radio at the University of Virginia (UVA) (Charlottesville, VA) | Apply Here
- Studios Videographer & Editor, Event Productions: Studios, Amazon (Arlington, VA) - Job ID: 3039180 | Apply Here
- Eng Photographer, NBCUniversal (Washington, DC) | Apply Here
Internships
- Productions (Part-Time/Seasonal), Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Washington, DC) | Apply Here
- Video Editor (Part-Time/Seasonal), Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Washington, DC) | Apply Here
Student Discount:
- Austin Film Festival and Conference Student Discount: Austin, Texas
The Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference, October 23-30, 2025 in Austin, Texas, provides insights into the craft of storytelling and actionable advice on how to navigate the industry. Development executives and literary managers share how they find new voices; assistants turned showrunners talk about how to climb the industry ladder; and storytellers at all stages of their careers remember how they got their start.
Students enrolled in nine hours in an accredited university are eligible to purchase a Student Conference Badge for a reduced rate.
Click here for more information and tickets.
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Did you miss our last newsletter?
Check out the archives here.
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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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