Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler ,
(818) 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

CSUN Student Film Showcase to Highlight
Hollywood's Newest Movie Makers

The showcase, which culminates four years of study for the university's senior-level film students, starts at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Blvd.

"These students are displaying their mastery of art and science and that they have had the stamina of character to prevail in this very difficult process," said Temma Kramer, coordinator of the showcase and CSUN film professor. "This is really a fine achievement for these students."

The four student films scheduled to be shown are:

• "Chestnut Grove," directed by Brandon Hickman. The tale of a scatter-brained temp and a groom with cold feet who find themselves stranded in Chestnut Grove. They embark on a journey that includes the lesson that being a little late for the right thing far surpasses being on time for the wrong thing.

• "Pearblossom," produced by Anthony Streicher and directed by Dan Carnan. Two stories of three lives, each laced with deceit and revenge, converging at the crossroads of life - Pearblossom Highway.

• "Running in Packs," directed by Jared Benedict. Even in the wild, the predator has only a slight advantage over its prey - fear.

• "The Silent Movie," written and directed by Brandon L. Hull. A failing silent movie star mysteriously switches places in time with a traveling vagabond from 50 years in the future. While his counterpart from the future is gallivanting about in Prohibition-era Hollywood using his identity, the actor, trapped in the future, must overcome his past failure and find a way back to his rightful place in 1922.

The evening's host will be Mike Werb, screenwriter on such movies as "The Mask" and "Face/Off." The Foreign Press Association also will honor the student filmmakers with a generous scholarship award.

Kramer said this year's crop of films demonstrates how talented CSUN's students are. As an example, Kramer pointed to Hull, who convinced British stage comedian Billy Connolly, who starred in the critically acclaimed film "Mrs. Brown," to appear in his project "The Silent Movie."

She said every film has its own unique challenges that call on the internal resources of a student.

"People have no idea how difficult it is to make and complete a film," Kramer said. "It takes enormous commitment and is expensive and full of problems that need to be solved."

Unlike other film departments or schools, Kramer said CSUN does not provide its students with money to make their movies. Instead, the university provides equipment and technical assistance.

She said students own their films and can use them as portfolio pieces with which they can launch their careers.

For more information about the showcase or to make reservations, call the Radio-Television-Film Department at (818) 677-3129.