Media Contact: Alondra Ponce, alondra.ponce.432@my.csun.edu, or Carmen Ramos Chandler, carmen.chandler@csun.edu, (818)-677-2130
From films that capture the struggle of being mocked about a stutter to the difficult choices immigrants must face, the public is invited to explore stories that a future generation of filmmakers have brought to light at California State University, Northridge’s 35th Annual Senior Film Showcase on Wednesday, April 29.
The event is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences located at 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211. It is free and open to the public.
“This year’s showcase will represent the quality of the film production work in CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts and the voices of our diverse students,” said professor Nate Thomas, head of CSUN’s film production option. “Past senior showcase participants like Michelle Mizner and Arielle Kilker have won either an Oscar or Emmy for their subsequent work in the industry. Attendees will see and meet the future leaders of the industry.”
The host for this year’s event will be Academy Award-nominated producer Michael Grillo, a film industry icon and CSUN alum. Grillo has produced such films as “Silverado,” “Grand Canyon,” “Defending Your Life” and “The Accidental Tourist,” which garnered him the Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Grillo was DreamWorks’ first head of feature film production where he oversaw production of all the studio’s live action movies for 10 years, including “Saving Private Ryan,” “Cast Away,” “Gladiator,” “American Beauty” and “Anchorman.”
In recent years, Grillo was executive producer of “The Green Hornet,” starring Seth Rogen, and Marvel Studios’ “Ant Man,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” A retrospective of Grillo’s work shown at the showcase.
Five student films will also be screened. They are:
- “Beaten Down,” directed by Anmol Bajaj, tells the story of an undocumented South Asian immigrant who has built a life in the United States, and now faces the difficult choice of returning home to help his pregnant sister in India who is facing a medical crisis.
- “The Trembles in My Voice,” directed by Ana de Jesus, is about a 17-year-old boy named Corey who is self-isolated because he is mocked about his stutter. When the person who made him feel accepted passes away, he is left feeling even more alone.
- “S.N.A.F.U.,” directed by Robert Kutruff, follows Lily Garcia, a former U.S. army medic and Iraq war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which spirals into alcoholism and homelessness in the streets of Los Angeles.
- “For Which They Stand,” directed by Natalie Shousha, focuses on the struggle of an Egyptian American family living in the US after 9/11. The film follows Ibrahim Hosney, a family man and small-business owner who is struggling to make ends meet after he receives a letter from a new government initiative titled, “NSEERS,” which threatens to take him away from his pregnant wife and his son.
- “Jewish Moms Scare the Crape Out of Me,” directed by Sam Markson, follows Ezra who, at a family Passover night celebration, tries to convince his Jewish family that his new boyfriend, Brian, is Jewish, by hiding his Mormon heritage.
A reception with live music from The Tim Russ Band will follow the showcase in the Academy Lobby. Russ is known to millions of fans as ‘Tuvok’ from television’s “Star Trek: Voyager” and as ‘Principal Franklin’ from the Nickelodeon series “iCarly.”
The evening is sponsored by the CSUN Associated Students Instructionally Related Activities Fund and the Golden Globe Foundation. All senior film project directors have the distinction of being Golden Globe Foundation Fellows.
