Fourth United Design Exhibition
June 29 - July 31

Welcome to the Fourth United Design Exhibition, a celebration of international awareness between education and profession in graphic design. The new preference for design participation had been changed with technology and profession, but always the message remains the prominent force in the way we solve the problem. For designers, the design problem is bounded by restrictions such as client and budget constraints, but always strive to explore new visual expressionism which can communicate the intent of the message. In this exhibition, we discover unique approaches in the preference for the design expression by designers from the all over the world. We don¹t look at restrictions as a barrier for creativity but it is an opportunity for bringing creativity to the intellectual level. This exhibit is a tribute to all the participants of the United Design Exhibition. And we unite ourselves as one without any obstacles.

Summer Gallery hours Mon -Fri 12 -4 pm

CSUN Students Headed to International Film Competition for Making LIKE A TREE

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Jun. 1st, 2009) ―

A man with a cassette player is surrounded by people with advanced technology. Dissatisfied with his meager device, he lets his imagination—with help from Mother Nature—take him farther than technology ever could.

It’s a simple premise for a movie, but one that is taking Cal State Northridge film students Michael O’Connor and Ross Sauriol from Manzanita Hall, home to CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts, to the screening rooms of Paramount Studios later this month.

O’Connor and Sauriol and their short film, “Make Like A Tree,” have been invited to take part in the Campus MovieFest 2009 International Grand Finale at Paramount on June 11-13. The event will feature the top 45 films from Campus Movie Fests held at universities across the country.

“We feel honored and grateful to be included in the festival,” O’Connor said. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure what all is happening at the Grand Finale, but I am looking forward to seeing all the other student films and perhaps learning something.”

Representatives from Campus MovieFest, which professes to be the world’s largest student film competition, visited university film departments last fall and invited the young filmmakers to participate. The students were given one week and all the equipment needed to shoot, edit and produce a short film.

O’Connor and Sauriol, who have just finished their junior years at CSUN, declined the offer of equipment since they had their own, but took up the challenge to make a film in a week.

“We actually did it in only two days,” said O’Connor, 21, of Agoura Hills, who composed the music for the film and starred as its main protagonist.

With limited time, O’Conner said they weren’t going to hire an actor. Most of the locations for the film were near his house, or on the CSUN campus. “And since I kind of look like a nature, grungy guy, it made sense for me to be in it.”

“Make Like a Tree” made the top three of the CSUN student entries in the Campus MovieFest, and was invited to be part of the regional contest in San Francisco. There, it made the top 16.

“After that, I thought it was over,” O’Connor said. “But then we got a call that we were invited to Hollywood. That was pretty nice.”

O’Connor said he has been struck by how different people interpret “Make Like a Tree.”

“To me, it’s about a guy using his imagination to have fun,” he said. “But Ross sees it as a technology vs. nature concept. Others see it as a green film. While that wasn’t my goal, I’m glad people are enjoying it.”

Fulbright Awards Announced

Two CSUN Theatre professors have been chosen for next year’s Fulbright Program, the flagship international educational exchange program. It is very unusual for two Fulbright awards to go to faculty in the same department in the same year.

Dr. J’aime Morrison
Dr. Morrison was awarded one of the only Fulbright Awards offered in the specific area of Theatre Movement. The Fulbright award will allow Dr. Morrison to research and develop a new dance theatre piece based on the work of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and I will also teach a course entitled "Performance and the Body" at the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria.

Lecturer Annie Cleveland
Annie Cleveland will be a guest lecturer in the Department of Theatre at National Taiwan University in Taipei for a full year's teaching appointment under the auspices of the Fulbright Foundation for Scholarly Exchange.
She will be teaching Beginning and Advanced Costume Design with a emphasis on digital design, as well as a Stage Makeup class and a Clothing and Culture course. The appointment will begin September 2009.

Faculty Film Director and Editor Win Honors at Pan African Film Festival

[CONTACT INFORMATION: Alison Graham | Ratcliff Graham Publicity | 310-494-1554 | http://www.happysadthemovie.com]

Los Angeles, CA -- HAPPYSAD, a feature film directed by CSUN professor Dianah Wynter and edited by Prof. Michael Hoggan, won Special Jury Mention at the Pan African Film Festival.

Shot entirely on location in Trinidad and Tobago, HAPPYSAD is a coming-of-age drama about 17-year-old Mandy Graham (Caribbean actress-model Angel Ross), a high school soccer player intent on making something out of her life and desperate not to end up anything like the father who abandoned her and the mother incarcerated for murder.

Veteran actor Bill Cobbs (Night at the Museum, The Others) co-stars as the sexist patriarch of her fractured family.

The Emmy nominated Prof. Wynter has taught advanced television directing and introduction to Mass communications at CSUN and shot this feature on location during her winter vacation one year ago.

Prof. Hoggan who teaches Avid editing and film production, has edited on over 20 different TV series including such diverse shows as: Early Edition , Cop Rock, Miami Vice, Comic View, and Fantasy Island.

Famed feature film producer-director Bill Duke says of Wynter’s film, “she allowed the audience to care about the characters. It was touching, painful and intelligent. I would recommend HAPPYSAD to anyone who has a chance to view it.”

The CSUN community clearly took those words to heart, as many faculty and students attended the screenings during the festival, which took place February 5 through 16th.

The film was written and produce by Horace Wilson, a native of Trinidad, who created a story that intertwines Mandy's personal struggles with those of her newly inherited "dysfunctional" family. Passions are unleashed. Souls are bared. Secrets are revealed. Tragedy strikes.

Award-winning director/producer Dianah Wynter brought together an exciting ensemble cast of Caribbean actors. Using filmmaking skills that she imparts to her students here at CSUN, Wynter crafted a touching story of love, pain, victory and redemption that appeals to a broad audience.