MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2024

Film at Mason Production Fair Follow Up 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Winter Warm-Up and Production Fair last month. Sign-ups are posted in the Jason Cortez Creativity Lab. If you are not already on our Cast and Crew Listserv and would like to be added, please email film@gmu.edu. 

Film at Mason Scholarships 

Final reminder! The Film at Mason scholarship application closes in less than a month. As you think about the next academic year and developing your projects, you might consider applying for a Film at Mason Tuition Scholarship. Visit the Film at Mason Tuition Scholarship webpage for more information, including the required application components and deadlines. 

The submission deadline is March 1, 2024.  
APPLY HERE

Visiting Filmmakers Series

Please check our VFS website for updates. 

This Spring, the Visiting Filmmakers Series is again bringing a wide range of filmmakers and artists to campus. Please see the lineup below and be sure to mark your calendars. 
Monday, February 26, 2024, College of Science and Visiting Filmmakers Series: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, followed by panel discussion 
6:00pm-8:30pm, Johnson Center Cinema 

The film tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line, known as HeLa. Told primarily through the eyes of Lacks’ daughter Deborah (Oprah Winfrey) and journalist Rebecca Skloot (Rose Byrne), the film investigates how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks’ cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, treatments for cancer and polio, and advances in radiation and AIDS therapies, changing countless lives and the trajectory of medicine. 
REGISTER ON MASON 360
NEW!  
Wednesday, March 13, 2024, Visiting Filmmakers Series: Nanny with filmmaker and Film at Mason Professor Nikyatu Jusu and host James Bah 
5:00pm-8:00pm, Johnson Center Cinema 

A spellbinding blend of social observation and artful shocks, the debut feature from Nikyatu Jusu plunges into the increasingly fractured consciousness of Aisha (Anna Diop), a Senegalese immigrant who takes a job as a nanny for a wealthy white family in New York City. 
REGISTER ON MASON 360
Thursday, March 21, 2024, Visiting Filmmakers Series: Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn with filmmaker Tim Harris 
5:00pm-7:45pm, Johnson Center Cinema 

Join us for a free screening of the new film, Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn, followed by a live Q&A with the film's director and editor, Tim Harris. The documentary tells the story of Malcolm Kenyatta, a self-described "poor, gay, black man from North Philly," during his historic run for the United States Senate. This race is about more than taking on the political competition. It's about taking on an entire system. 
REGISTER ON MASON 360
Monday, April 8, 2024, Visiting Filmmakers Series: Confessions of a Good Samaritan with filmmaker Penny Lane 
5:00pm-7:45pm, Johnson Center Cinema 

Director Penny Lane’s decision to become a “Good Samaritan” by giving one of her kidneys to a stranger launches her on an unexpectedly funny, intimate, and provocative quest to understand why everyone seems to think she’s crazy. The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2023, where it won the Special Recognition HOPE AWARD. Indeed, this unusual film is full of hope. 
REGISTER ON MASON 360

FILMFEST DC Trailer Contest

Calling all student filmmakers! Create the official trailer for Washington DC International Film Festival! Get the opportunity to see your work on the big screen before each screening at the festival. For more information, reach out to Film at Mason Professor Amanda Kraus at akraus@gmu.edu by February 20th.

Mason Film Festival 2024

The 2024 Mason Film Festival will take place in the Johnson Center Cinema  
April 22-24 and April 27, 2024. Visit our website to view the schedule.
Registration information will be coming soon.
Congratulations to our poster design contest winner, Emily Rehr.  

Emily is a senior at George Mason University, graduating with a B.F.A in Graphic Design (spring, class of 2024).  She currently works as a photographer and graphic design assistant with the New Student and Family Programs office and as an assistant trip leader for Outdoor Adventures.  Emily has a background in design and photography and hopes to combine her strengths with her interests in environmentalism and wildlife. In her spare time she loves to read, rock climb, and hike. She plans to purse design after college, hoping to work amongst local conservation groups or with the National Parks Service. 

Submit to the Mason Players The Originals!

Calling all writers! Submit to the 2024 Mason Players The Originals!

The Mason Players are looking for 10-minute plays and musicals of all genres to bring to life. Anyone is welcome to submit work.

Six of the submitted pieces will be selected, directed, and performed by exceptionally talented George Mason students in the Fall of 2024.

Requirements:
- You must be a current student with a 2.5 GPA or better as of Fall 2024.
- Your piece must be 10 pages or less in proper script format.
- Your piece must be your own original work.
As The Originals! is a minimalistic production focusing on the text, your piece should be limited to no more than two locations, three sound cues, three light cues, minimal props and minimal costumes.

The deadline for submissions is: March 15th, 2024.

Please email your submissions to the faculty Co-Directors of The Originals!: April Brassard and Frank Robinson, Jr. (abrassar@gmu.edu and frobins2@gmu.edu.)

Faculty Achievement

Professor Justin Plakas is participating as a faculty researcher in the BLIMP Workshop at the Mason Innovation Exchange this semester.  

In collaboration with Professor Ted Prawat (Computer Game Design) and under the guidance of Professor Daigo Shishika (Mechanical Engineering), Justin will be part of an interdisciplinary group consisting of faculty, PhD candidates and undergraduate students. Their collective aim is to engage in research, design, and fabrication of floating BLIMP vehicles utilizing microcontrollers and computer vision technology.  

This program, organized by the Mason Innovation Exchange, will showcase the exciting BLIMP research on March 27 at Horizon Hall. 

Alumni Accomplishments

MAIS alumna Francis Cordero (’09) won a 2023 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Educational and Informational Program and the 2023 Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Award for the PBS series, Italy Made with Love. The series shows various Italian artisans practicing their individual trades and the artistry, time, and skill that goes into their work. 
Film alumni Sumona Banerji (‘20) and Alicia Rodriguez (‘20) worked with Arts at Mason Board member Willy Meaux (Producer and Writer) on the documentary series, Bridge to Italy. The series follows a group of Americans who take a 15-day journey, traveling only by Vespa, through Italy, experiencing each city’s local cuisine, art, and culture. Bridge to Italy is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. 

Staff Spotlight

Adjunct professor and staff member Anjuli Singh gave a talk on the “Evolving Depictions of Black Characters in Hollywood” at Cascades Library in recognition of Black History Month. She examined how pioneering filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux and Spike Lee have challenged stereotypes and how major films and film movements, such as Get Out and Blaxploitation films, have introduced new aesthetics and awareness to Hollywood filmmaking. 

Film Opportunities and Resources   

Festival Submissions:  

Grants, Fellowships and Opportunities:
  • New Voices Filmmaker Grant, an ongoing initiative in partnership with Netflix to support emerging LGBTQ+ directors with $25,000 in funding to create new work, is accepting applications. Deadline: February 22, 2024. 
  • Vox Media’s Writers Workshop applications for the 2024 cohort are now open until Friday, February 23, 2024.. People transitioning into the industry, rising college seniors, recent graduates, and anyone looking to jumpstart their careers in media are encouraged to apply! Selected candidates will be notified by March 8. This program is fully remote and will be running from March to May 2024. 
  • Monkeypaw Productions’s NO DRAMA global initiative is seeking to amplify dynamic filmmakers with a passion for telling genre centered stories. Deadline is February 29, 2024. 
  • Southern Exposure Film Fellowship is accepting applications. This innovative summer fellowship equips students with the skills, equipment, content knowledge and contacts to create authentic, engaging, inspiring films intended to raise public awareness about important issues facing Alabama’s environment -- from the mountains to the coast. Apply here.  Deadline: March 15, 2024. 

Internships and Jobs:  
Did you miss our last newsletter?
Check out the archives here.
Twitter Facebook Instagram

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
Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
4400 University Dr. MS 5D8
Fairfax, VA | 22030 US
This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
Subscribe to our email list.