MEDIA RELEASE
Director Robert Townsend to Help Shine Spotlight on CSUN Filmmakers
(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., April 17, 2008) — Actor, director and television executive Robert Townsend will help shine the spotlight on Hollywood’s future movers and shakers as host of Cal State Northridge’s 18th annual "Senior Film Showcase" at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences next month.
The showcase, which culminates four years of study for the university’s senior-level film students, is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, in the Leonard H. Goldenson Theater of the academy at 5230 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.
Cinema and television arts professor Nate Thomas said the students whose films were chosen for this year’s showcase are representative of the caliber of the students in CSUN’s film program.
"These students are talented and know how to tell a story on film that is captivating and entertaining," said Thomas, who heads the department’s film option. "I wouldn’t be surprised to see any or all of these students’ names up on a marquee or on the door of some studio’s corner office some day. Their films highlight how much they have learned in our program, and the fact that they have mastered an art that can bring pleasure to millions of people around the world."
This year’s event will also honor Northridge alumni Robert Mitas, executive vice president of Michael Douglas’ production company, Further Films, and Spiros Stathoulopolous, whose student film, "PVC-1," the true story about a Colombian woman who could not pay criminals’ hefty ransom demands and wound up with a time bomb around her neck, caught the attention of Hollywood executives when it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
Hosting the evening will be Townsend, the actor and comedian who received international acclaim for his feature film, "Hollywood Shuffle," a satire depicting the trials and tribulations of African Americans trying to make it in the entertainment industry. Townsend wrote, produced, starred in and personally financed the film, earning him the reputation as one of the "godfathers" of independent film.
Townsend went on to direct Eddie Murphy’s "Raw" and the inner-city fable "The Meteor Man," which he also wrote and starred in with a cast that included James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby and Sinbad. His more recent directorial projects include NBC’s biopic "Little Richard," "Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story," MTV’s "Carmen: A Hip Hopera," starring Beyonce and the award-winning Showtime feature film "10,000 Black Men Named George." He also is president and CEO of production for The Black Family Channel (BFC). Townsend has been nominated for 30 NAACP Image Awards. An on-screen retrospective on his career will be shown the evening of the showcase.
The six student films to be premiered at the showcase:
- "Finding Bigfoot," directed by Robert Larson, is the story of a recent college grad who embarks on a journey of self-discovery with his grandfather to find the legendary Big Foot.
- "Braceros," directed by Belinda Carreno, is the story of a man who shares experiences from the 1940s’ Bracero Program with his granddaughter.
- "Armen," directed by Sherry Festekjian, is the tale of an Armenian watchmaker who is asked to take a seven-year-old Jewish boy with him as he attempts to flee Nazi Germany.
- "Shades of Hope," directed by Brianna Campbell, portrays the daily plight of an American soldier in combat in Vietnam and the lack of support he receives from home.
- "August 5th," directed by Tony Mohareb, takes a look at five minutes in the life an ordinary man living in a war-torn country; he is forced to decide between rebuilding his life or seeking revenge.
- "Tango," directed by Alan Giron, tells the story of a young man who uses dance to correct the wrong decisions he unknowingly makes and to combat his personal demons.
A reception with live music will follow the screenings in the academy’s lobby and patio areas.
The showcase is sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the CSUN Associated Students Instructionally Related Activities Fund.
For more information about the showcase, call CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts at (818) 677-3192.