University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

MEDIA RELEASE

‘The Envelope, Please…’—CSUN Wins Big at CSU Festival

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Nov. 16, 2007) — Cal State Northridge swept the screenplay categories, landed the top documentary award and earned animation honors at the prestigious annual California State University Media Arts Festival, held earlier this month at CSU Channel Islands. Northridge student projects were chosen from 230 entries submitted by 15 of the CSU’s 23 campuses.

First place Rosebud Awards went to Mason Eng, who graduated earlier this year, producer/director of "Catharsis: The Story of a Survivor’s Art;" graduate student Rowan Sutherland for his short screenplay, "Talitha and The Gnome;" and senior Brandie Coonis and recent graduate Diana Karna, dual winners in the feature screenplay category, for "Rabbit Girl" and "A Life That Matters," respectively.

CSUN art students brought home a second place recognition in animation for "Rigs," a 3D computer animated comedy by recent grad Richard Hudson; and a fourth place win in the experimental category for "AC401," a futuristic movie trailer directed by senior Leslie Africa and produced by Danny Pesses, who graduated in June.

A finalist recognition went to recent graduate Justin Hickman for his short screenplay, "Parker, Matthew."

"I was pleased to see the work of so many CSUN students from cinema and television arts (CTVA) and art receive awards," said Karen Kearns, associate dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, who attended the event with several CSUN faculty members. "Mason Eng’s poignant documentary, ‘Catharsis,’ deserved the Rosebud Award and will be a model for future CTVA students. The CTVA screenwriting program also deserves kudos when three screenplay entries received the highest honors in their categories."

Eng worked closely with cinema and television arts assistant professor Thelma Vickroy, whose CTVA 441 documentary class helped give shape to "Catharsis," a moving portrait of Holocaust survivor and artist Irving Belfer, who created extraordinary handcrafted Judaic——miniature synagogues, houses, concentration camps—using only plywood, a pocket knife, an occasional tweezer and Elmer’s glue.

Rowan Sutherland’s "Talitha and the Gnome" is about a little girl looking for her dog in an enchanted forest "filled with all kinds of scary creatures." Sutherland worked with CTVA faculty Jon Stahl and Tom McWilliams.

Diana Karna worked on her screenplay—about best friends "entangled in a complicated crime scheme"—in CTVA professor Alexis Krasilovsky’s class, and Brandie Coonis worked with Krasilovsky on "Rabbit Girl," a modern coming-of-age tale derived from a Native American myth.

Art faculty John Clisset, Mark Farquhar, Mary Ann Trujillo, Michael Eggert and technical support staffer Brian Petersen were advisors on the art student projects.

At the highly competitive media festival event, established in 1991 to help CSU students transition from college to "real world" industry work, finalists were judged by a panel of industry experts in nine categories ranging from animation to music video. A $500 cash prize is awarded for each category. Each winning student’s department is awarded a $250 cash prize.

California State University, Northridge has 35,200 full- and part-time students and offers 62 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.