CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2009!
ALUMNI NEWS:
Zach Arnold (SAC '04) runs his own film editing company called Fit-It-In-Post.
Katie Barkel's (SAC '08) thesis film, Draggers & Rip Spots, debut at Indie Memphis 2008 in Memphis, Tennessee.
(Photo: Ryan Carmichael (right) in his film Everything's New in Lost Time.)
Ryan Carmichael (SAC '06) was one recipient of the Director's Guild of America Student Award for his film Everything's New in Lost Time. Ryan is currently in the NYU Graduate Directing program.
Yoni Brenner (SAC '04) was a screenwriter on the new Ice Age film.
Tara Billik, (SAC '99), works for GK Films (The Departed, Aviator, Blood Diamond) in Santa Monica.
Matt Dunstone (F/V '95) documentary film Kalamazoo River: U.S. was released in October 2009. The film is a whimsical documentary about the Kalamazoo River, www.kalamazooriverus.com.
Rylend Grant, (SAC '00) won the Final Draft International Screenwriting Contest in 2004. His screenplay, "Drive," bested the nearly 3000 entries. As the winner, he receives a check for $10,000.
Zack Evans (SAC '04) finished Trailer for a new Horror film. Zack Evans and his producing partner Drew Masters and have optioned a unique and disturbing feature-length horror script called Outlier, by two immensely talented writers. They want to get other people as excited about it as they are, so they shot and edited a trailer for the script. Check it out at http://www.outlierthemovie.com/{mosimage}
Elise Freimuth (SAC '04) works for mPRm Public Relations (www.mprm.com)in Los Angeles. mPRm Public relations is one of Los Angeles Business Journal's Top Five Independent PR Firms.
Adam Herz (SAC '96)is the screenwriter of the American Pie films and he runs his own production company called Terra Firma Films.
Ben Ketai (SAC '05) has been working as a content creator for Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures in Beverly Hills, writing and producing web series and short films. He recently directed my first web series for Ghost House which just began airing on FEARnet.com. It's called "30 DAYS OF NIGHT: DUST TO DUST" and is a spin-off from the graphic novels on which last years feature film, "30 DAYS OF NIGHT," was based. The official link is www.fearnet.com/dusttodust.
Adam Knee (SAC '82) is an Assistant Professor and MA Program Coordinator Ohio University School of Film. Adam was a Fulbright Scholar in film studies at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
David Knott (SAC '92) has been working in animation since '94, working for 2 years at Hanna-Barbera before it was swallowed whole by AOL-Time-Warner, and has been working steadily at Disney TV Animation since 1996. Some of the highlights include storyboard supervisor on the Recess Movie, storyboards on "Kim Possible," season 2 and 3, and most recently he is finishing directing the series "The Emperor's New School," based off the movie "The Emperor's New Groove" due to premiere on the Disney Channel in January. Contrary to what a lot of production-hungry students think, the study of films and the theory accompanying them was an invaluable tool in developing his story-telling style. He said, "you can't intelligently make films without that knowledge and background. Thanks for continued news of the ole program! It sure has grown since I was a student! Keep up the good workFilm & Video."
Philip Leaman (SAC 08) is currently in the MFA: Digital + Media program at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD.) His film Three Pilots is a finalist in the 2009 Copenhagen International Film Festival. The Danish translation of the title is Flying Dreams with Air Under the Wings. The film is described asthe dream of flight can have many causes, but distinguishes itself apparently as a human basic features across time and place. Three Pilots lets one understand why. The small, colorful airplanes chugging along over the sky and spin around in somersaults, while three pilots tell of the fascination of flight and freedom in the clouds, so you even get the urge to follow suit. A wonderful short seven minute film.
Michael O'Leary (SAC '05) is a graduate of Screen Arts former self the program in Film & Video Studies. Michael won an Emmy in 2007 for his producing role on the NASCAR Images production Beyond the Wheel ( a national Sports Emmy and not a regional or student award). O'Leary was also a member of the University of Michigan men's lacrosse team. His spot on the team, along with skills behind the camera were perfect components for the production of the programs' “team video”. After earning rave reviews for his first attempt, the annual video became one of the most anticipated items of the year for his fellow Wolverines. According to O'Leary, the efforts spent on the team documentaries didn't just pay off with the thanks and gratitude of his teammates, “Producing the team documentaries was the experience that let him step into Beyond the Wheel so quickly. Each video allowed him to grow creatively and he really made an effort to learn as much as he could about camerawork, writing, editing and interviewing. He used those DVDs as resumes and it was that production experience that opened a lot of doors at both NFL Films and NASCAR Images." The "team documentaries" that are referenced were actually independent studies through Film & Video and that's really what gave him his start.
(Photo-Michigan Filmmakers: Brian Flynn SAC '09, Danny Mooney SAC '08, Eddie Rubin SAC '09, Debashis Mazumber SAC '07, and Josh Amir SAC '10.)
Danny Mooney's (SAC '08) film Fingers , and his two Producers Eddie Rubin(SAC '09) and Debashis Mazumder(SAC '07) and the main actor Ben Daniels (Jeff Daniels' son), attended the World Premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival from October 15-19th, 2008. At the festival the Golden Star Fish is the most prestigious award that a film in any competition category can win. For the shorts 50 films were selected to be programmed, but only 5 were selected to actually be judged in competition and be eligible for a Golden Star Fish... Fingers is one of the 5! If you win the Golden Star Fish you are then eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award. They were also given prime screening times on Friday and Saturday at 7 PM (17 th &18th) with their own introduction and Q&A session. Mooney and Rubin founder their own production company called Deep Blue Productions. They are currently producing a new film called MOOZ-lem that is being filmed in Ann Arbor.
Dan Pipski (SAC '99) is a screenwriter and VP of Development at Groundswell Productions.
Tim Pollock (SAC '04) is screenwriter who writes for The Suite Life.
V. Prasad (SAC '97) is a screenwriter. V had two movies out last year: Ocean of Pearls and Before the Rains. He is currently Screen Arts & Cultures 310 Screenwriting Faculty.
Phil Ranta (SAC '06) is working as the executive producer of a mobile video content service that powers two channels on Verizon's V-Cast and over 20 other mobile phone video channels worldwide. It's kind of like producing for two dozen public access channels at once!
Jordan Rosenberg (SAC) is a screenwriter and writes for Lost and other shows.
Dan Shere (SAC '97) is currently Screen Arts & Cultures 310 Screenwriting Faculty. He sold his original comedy screenplay, WE ARE FAMILY to 20th Century Fox to be produced by Ralph Winter and Debbie Liebling. Currently, he has an animated movie about to go into production.
Audra Sielaff (SAC) is a screenwriter who writes for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and other shows.
Gaurav Sikka (SAC ’06) launched his own company, Michigan Partners in Bangalore, India. Michigan Partners is a new venture creation firm that shortlists successful businesses around the world and migrates them to the Indian market through Joint Ventures, Technology Transfers or Strategic Alliances. The company’s web site is: www.michiganpartners.com
Craig Silverstein (SAC '97) is a screenwriter and writes for Fox and other networks. He's sold 3 new shows in Septemeber 2009.
Beth Schwartz (SAC) is a screenwriter/TV writer and writes for TV's Brothers & Sisters.
Marty Stano's (SAC '08) Moon Cake was the Region 2 Student Academy Awards Winner for the Alternative Category in 2007. It was the #1 film in that category. It then went on as a National Finalist for the Student Academy Awards.
Oliver Thornton (SAC '99) is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer who has worked with stations like WTVS, WFUM and WKAR—as well as independent production companies like HKO Media and Metrocom International—to produce a range of projects from local commericals to full-length documentaries. He is currently the Series Producer of "Get Up! Get Out!" on WTVS and his projects in development include a dramatic anthology series for Detroit Public Television. He was the principal writer, producer and director on the Emmy-nominated "Michigan Football Memories" and has written and produced two Emmy Award-winning short form documentaries for local public television. He graduated from the Screen Arts and Cultures program in 2000 and was the recipient of a Hopwood Award and the Gayle Morris Sweetland Fellowship in screenwriting while a student there. Thornton also teaches TV Writing in the U-M Department of SCreen Arts & Cultures.
Mike Williamson (SAC '04) shot a mini-series called "30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust" for director Ben Ketai (SAC '05). It's being presented by Fear.net both on the web and on-demand cable. There is a new episode each week with six parts in total. Here's the link: www.fearnet.com/dusttodust Mike premiered his thesis film "Niña Quebrada" at the American Film Institute where he studied cinematography. Please also take a look at his website www.mikewilliamson.net
Alex Wright (SAC '99) on June 6, 2009 was awarded 2 Michigan Emmy Awards for his work as producer/writer in regional sports programming. Wright was recognized for “Outstanding Series: Sports” for the program CCHA All-Access, and “Outstanding One-time Program: Sports” for Under the Lights: Red Wings Prospect Camp. A Detroit-based freelancer, Wright produced both programs for Fox Sports Detroit.
