Melnitz film series focuses on faculty

Melnitz film series focuses on faculty

By Barbara Hernandez

Daily Bruin Staff

When you live in Los Angeles, a person can become a little
jaded, especially at UCLA, where television and film stars come and
go.

A student may become so jaded they don’t appreciate their own
professors, who have careers in filmmaking aside from handing down
technique and advice. That’s why Melnitz Movies and the School of
Theater, Film and Television are presenting their Second Annual
UCLA Faculty Film Series Mondays at 7 p.m.

"Most of the UCLA faculty (in the School of Theater, Film and
Television) are very important filmmakers," says Jim Friedman,
director of Melnitz Movies and a coordinator of the series. "It’s
amazing to me the quality of work found here, particularly
internationally."

Begun last year, the series promoted important films not only in
the careers of UCLA educators but in film history, also providing
an interactive discussion with the filmmaker after a screening.
Included from last year is Dean of the School of the Arts (and
Academy Awards producer) Gilbert Cates, always a highlight in the
series.

"He doesn’t just produce the Academy Awards but was also
nominated for an Academy Award," says Friedman. "Most people don’t
recognize the talent we have here at UCLA.

"When you see all the projects together," Friedman states, "you
see what a strong faculty we have, and the thing to do is to
celebrate that success."

Filmmaker and assistant professor in the department of film and
television, Myrl Schreibman, senses that the film let students know
their professors are intimately involved in the curriculum. "That’s
why the current curriculum we have is so exciting. We can train
them for what’s ahead. That’s why UCLA is so exciting to be a part
of."

Kicking off the series was Nights and Days and Academy
Award-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and winner of
several international awards, directed by Jerzy Antczak, a 10 year
veteran of UCLA’s department of film and television.

Tonight’s offering, The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything (7
p.m. at Melnitz) directed by Schreibman, was a ratings hit when it
ran in independent markets. Filmed in 24 days, this boy meets girl
story placed on independent stations across the nation by
Paramount, rose to a 42 share, beating out the Big Three
networks.

On April 24, Marina Goldovskaya, a world-renowned Soviet
filmmaker and journalist with 25 international awards to her
credit, will present her film This Shaking World. Chronicling the
Moscow uprising of 1993 and continuing to the "shaking" of Los
Angeles’ seismic activities and catastrophes, her documentary takes
viewers deep into different lives and worlds.

Also on the April 24, is Chon Noriega’s 28-minute documentary
highlighting a group of Latino artists constructing site-specific
works on a college campus as well as a museum during a two-week
period. What sounds normal enough leads to surprising consequences.
Noriega, an assistant professor in critical studies, is also a
well-known film curator and editor of Chicanos and Film.

On May 1, the series will present Gilbert Cates’ offering,
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, a film exploring a woman’s sense of
despair and loss in the midst of her family. Winner of a New York
Film Critics Award, Joanne Woodward’s performance stands out.

Other notable films are Riddles of the Sphinx by Peter Wollen, a
professor of critical studies, and independent fillmmaker, whose
elegant and erudite film wavers from mainstream predictability.

Bless Their Little Hearts by Billy Woodberry, one of the few
features done by an African American filmmaker, portrays a family
man and the toll chronic unemployment takes on his self-esteem.
Woodberry depicts the dignity of a man coming to grips with his
limitations and a struggle for survival.

Also showing is The World’s Greatest Athlete by Dee Caruso, a
screenwriter who currently teaches screenwriting in the School of
Theater, Film and Television. This Disney film’s story focuses on a
football coach who finds a super athlete in the jungles of Africa
and brings him back to civilization.

The last offering of the series is animation professor Dan
McLaughlin’s eight short films including Claude, God is Dog Spelled
Backwards and Words Kill. An independent experimental filmmaker,
McLaughlin has inspired hundreds of animation students, many of
whom work in animation for such companies as Disney and
Lucasfilm.

"This series isn’t just for the UCLA campus," says Friedman of
the films, "but it does give the community a chance to see
them."

FILM: Second Annual UCLA Faculty Film Series. Now showing
Mondays at 7 p.m. until June 5. Admission is free. For more info
call (310) 825-2345.