Fall 2016 Schedule
Screening Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. in Calcia 135, University Hall Room 1010, or at another location as listed.
Sept 13听触听Sept 20听触听Sept 27听触听Oct 4听触听Oct 11听触Oct 18听触听Oct 25听触听Nov 1听触听Nov 2听触听Nov 15听触听Nov 22听触Nov 29听触听Dec 6听触
Sept 13 – MICHAEL SLOVIS (executive producer, director, director photography)
SCREENING –听PREACHER
(Executive producer, director of AMC’s听笔谤别补肠丑别谤听Michael Slovis)
As a Director of Photography Michael Slovis photographed films and television, including five seasons of the widely recognized听Breaking听Bad. Nominated seven times for Outstanding Cinematography Emmy Awards, he won once. He has directed听The听Walking听Dead,听ED,听Rubicon,听CSI:听Crime听Scene听Investigation,听30听Rock,听Law and Order SVU,听Chicago Fire,听Chicago PD,听Hell on Wheels,听Grace听Point,听Elementary,听Breaking听Bad,听Game of Thrones,听Man in the听High Castle,听The听Affair,听The New Yorker听on Amazon, Hulu鈥檚听The Path,听and is now Executive Producer/Director of AMC鈥檚听Preacher. Michael has lived in Montclair with his wife Maria for 31 years.
SEPT 20 – TOM LEESER (digital media artist)
SCREENING – COLLECTION OF WORKS
*Please note the special location: Calcia Hall Room 135
Tom Leeser is a media artist, educator, curator, and writer. He is Program Director of the Art and Technology Program and Director of the Center for Integrated Media at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Tom received his BFA and MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). His film, video, online work, interactive installations, and public performances have been exhibited at Eyebeam, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, MachineProject, the Mount Wilson Observatory, MassMoca, The Santa Monica Museum of Art, The Fowler Museum, Redcat Theater, The Kitchen, The Millennium, Siggraph, and film and video festivals worldwide, with support from Art Matters, Creative Time, and the Daniel Langlois Foundation.
Recent projects include:听DryRun, a public art and sound/poetry project for the City of Santa Clarita,听History Refused to Die听and听The Futures Project听at the Alabama Contemporary Center for the Arts and the Los Angeles Filmforum. He is an editor and producer for the web-based journal and curatorial project viralnet.net.
SEPT 27 – NATALIA LEITE (writer, director, actor)
SCREENING –听听&听
Co-sponsored by the 听Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Center at 精品成人福利在线 University.
Natalia Leite is a writer/director/actor, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her feature film debut,听Bare听premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015, starring Dianna Agron (Glee) and Paz De La Huerta (Boardwalk听Empire). The film was released by IFC in US theaters nationwide, and by Paramount Pictures in the UK. She often deals with sexuality in her work, which has been described as having 鈥渆motional intelligence and sensitivity鈥 (LA听Times), and as 鈥渃ementing the reign over highly stylized and sexually progressive dramas鈥 (Slant). She is a frequent contributor to Vice Media, creating original content like the provocative Vice show,听Every听Woman. Together with Alexandra Roxo she created the acclaimed series听Be Here Nowish. Natalia was listed in 2015 as one of Indiewire鈥檚 Filmmakers To Watch and has been featured in听The Sunday Times, The New听Yorker,听The Guardian,听Vogue, among other publications. She is currently directing her second feature film听MFA听starring Francesca Eastwood (Outlaws听&听Angels) and Kevin Durand (齿颅惭别苍).
OCT 4 – SKIP LIEVSAY (sound technician)
SCREENING – SELECTED EXCERPTS (featuring films by Ethan and Joel Cohen)
Skip Lievsay is one of the most accomplished sound technicians in the film industry today, having worked on more than 150 feature films, with notable directors such as Joel and Ethan Coen, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Alfonso Cuar贸n, John Sayles, Terrence Malick, and Jonathan Demme. In 2007, he was nominated for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing Academy Awards for听No Country for Old Men, and, in 2010, in the same categories for听True Grit. In 2013, he won the Academy Award for Best Sound for听Gravity, being nominated in the same category for听Inside听Llewyn听Davis.
From听Fargo听to听The Big Lebowski听and听No Country for Old Men, the sounds of Coen brother films are exhilarating, incorporating an array of music composition and inflections of sound to add to the all-encompassing world of their movies. Academy-Award Winning Sound Mixer Skip Lievsay will discuss the creative process behind their films as well as the collaborative relationship with Ethan & Joel which has endured and prospered across so many films.
OCT 11 – LESLIE MCCLEAVE (producer and director)
SCREENING – HOW SWEET THE SOUND: THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
Filmed over the course of ten years,听How Sweet the Sound听is the first film to tell the story of this legendary gospel quartet. The Blind Boys of Alabama met as children in the 1930鈥檚 at a state-run segregated vocational school and would become one of the last great gospel quartets, traversing the famed 鈥済ospel highway鈥 and beyond. As the surviving band members recount their unlikely success story, we see a rare, frank view of life on and off the road with these renowned performers, now in their 70鈥檚 and 80鈥檚.
Leslie McCleave鈥檚 previous work includes the supernatural, environmental-awareness tale Road, which won the Outstanding Performance Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was acquired by Showtime, iTunes, and Snag Films. Her narrative short films,听Avenue X,听Blixa听Bargeld Stole My Cowboy Boots, and听Meeting听Marty听have screened at numerous festivals and venues including New Directors/New Films at the Museum of Modern Art, Berlin International Film Festival, Institute of Contemporary Art (London), Lollapalooza, and have received top awards at the Sundance, Locarno, San Francisco, and South by Southwest Film Festivals. Her films have been broadcast nationally and internationally on Sundance Channel, Showtime, Film Four UK, TV2000 and PBS. In 2011 she created the 5-screen, 9/11 documentary installation听cedarliberty, (with Elena del Rivero), presented at the International Center of Photography in New York City and at the New York State Museum in Albany. Her work has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Irish Film Board and the Sundance Institute.听How Sweet the Sound听is her first documentary feature.
OCT 18 – TIM K. SMITH (director, editor)
SCREENING – SEX AND BROADCASTING
Tim K Smith, a 20 year film and TV veteran, started his career serving coffee on Spike Lee鈥檚听Malcolm听X听and has since worked in every aspect of the filmmaking process. He has spent the last 10 years focusing on his love of documentaries which has included his collaborations as editor of Morgan Spurlock鈥檚听Comicon Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, co颅producing and editing two films for HBO including the critically acclaimed听Kevorkian听and editing听Quest for Honor, the Oscar short颅listed documentary following the plight of Kurdish woman in Iraq.听Sex and Broadcasting听marks his directorial debut,听a feature length documentary about New Jersey’s WFMU, the world’s strangest and most unique radio station, and one man’s attempt to keep it alive in the face of recession, the persistent threat of commercial media, and the challenges that come with keeping a rebellious group of outsiders together.
OCT 25 – ANTHONY TARSITANO (writer, director)
SCREENING – LOST CAT CORONA
Anthony resides in New York City with his wife and producing partner, Deborah. With an extensive career in media and advertising already in place, Anthony and Deborah founded City Squirrel Films in 2007. In 2013 he wrote and directed听Ice, starring Kevin Corrigan鈥擶orld Premiering at the Academy庐-qualifying TriBeCa Film Festival and International Premiere at the Academy庐-qualifying听Raindance听Film Festival in London.听Ice听garnered a Jury Award at the Academy庐-qualifying USA Film Festival, and Best Narrative Short at the Berlin Independent Film Festival and Phoenix Film Festival. In 2008 he wrote and directed听Calling it Quits, starring Dennis Boutsikaris, Jessica Hecht and Bob Clohessy. The film traveled the domestic film festival circuit 2008- 2009 garnering awards for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Ensemble, Best Story and Best Cinematography along the way. From 1990 to present Anthony has also written and directed numerous Television & Radio spots for MasterCard, Citibank, Quicken Loans, Amica Insurance, 21st Century Insurance, and Nickelodeon, and others.
Lost Cat Corona, starring Ralph Macchio, Paul Sorvino, and Gina Gershon, is about a play it safe guy must search for his wife’s missing cat, bringing him face to face with the colorful, wacky, and sometimes, the more dangerous element of his neighborhood, forcing him to confront his fears and rethink his M.O.
NOV 1 – BEN SYNDER (playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker)
SCREENING –听
Ben Snyder is a playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His plays have been produced at Center Stage New York, The Vineyard Theater, Crossroads Theatre, The Apollo Theater, New York Stage and Film, and at HBO鈥檚 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. Over the past decade, The Hip Hop Theater Festival has presented his plays at venues including The Bronx Museum, P.S. 122, The Harry Dejur Playhouse, The Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, and Summer Stage. Ben鈥檚 work has been nominated for an NAACP Theatre Award. Ben鈥檚 films have screened at the LA Film Festival, Seattle Film Festival, The Cannes Film Festival, Aspen Shorts Fest, Austin Film Festival, and been featured on the PBS series听On听Story.
He wrote and directed the feature film,听11:55, featuring Julia Stiles, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and David Zayas. His original TV pilot听The听Come听Up, starring Michael K. Williams (The听Wire) and Andre Holland (The听Knick), recently participated in IFP鈥檚 Screen Forward Lab. Ben was the Story Consultant for the award winning documentary听TheWolfpack. Most recently, he was hired to develop a miniseries for Channel 4 (England) and Lionsgate Entertainment, a half-hour comedy for rapper T.I., and has been commissioned to adapt the solo-shows of John Leguizamo into a feature script. He is a graduate of NYU鈥檚 Tisch School of the Arts, a former fellow at The Juilliard School, and holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. Ben is a member of Labyrinth Theater Company.
NOV 2 – Margarita with a Straw with Broadway actress Ali Stroker
SCREENING – 6:30PM – 9:30PM – Leshowitz Hall, Chapin Hall听
A rebellious young woman with cerebral palsy leaves her home in India to study in New York, unexpectedly falls in love, and embarks on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery.
ReelAbilities Montclair is part of the largest disability film festival in the country and is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different abilities. The festival will feature cutting edge and sometimes controversial films that challenge assumptions and promote discussion about ability and disability.
NOV 15 –听Beth B听(writer and director)
SCREENING – CALL HER APPLEBROOG
Throughout her prolific career, Beth B has produced over 30 films within the documentary, experimental, and narrative genres. B worked in television as an Executive Producer, Producer, and Director for eight years. She has mounted large-scale media installations for the Hayward Gallery and the Wexner Center and created a theater production for BAM鈥檚 Artist in Action series. Her films have been shown at museums and cinemas worldwide as well as film festivals including: The New York Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Nuremberg Int鈥檒 Human Rights Film Festival, DOC NYC Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival and many others.
Currently, Beth B is releasing her new feature documentary film, CALL HER APPLEBROOG, with Zeitgeist Films as distributor. The film had its world premiere at The Museum of Modern Art at Doc Fortnight and opened at the Metrograph Theater NYC as well as other theatrical venues. The film reveals renowned artist Ida Applebroog鈥檚 groundbreaking artwork that has been a sustained enquiry into the polemics of human relations, but more intimately, it is about her dramatic struggle to overcome adversity. Her personal story is one that Beth B knows well鈥擨da is her mother and colleague.
Directed by Arthur Vincie / Produced by Benjamin Wolf
SCREENING –听TREMBLING CITIES
Arthur Vincie:
“Arthur recently wrote and directed the sci-fi feature听Found In Time.听 The film was released on Amazon and other VOD channels by Green Apple Entertainment.听 It went to 26 festivals, winning Best Feature at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, and Best Sci-Fi Feature awards at Shriekfest, Intendence, Shockerfest, ZedFest, and Phoenix Comic-Con.
Focal Press just published his non-fiction book on preproduction,听Preparing For Takeoff: Preproduction for the Independent Filmmaker.听听Caleb’s Door, his first feature, is available on DVD and VOD.
Arthur’s shorts have screened at festivals and art venues in the US and in Europe.听 He’s also line produced/production managed 13 features, including听Helena From The Wedding;听Goodbye Baby;听The Toe Tactic; and听Racing Daylight,听starring David Strathairn and Melissa Leo.听 These films screened at the Tribeca, Slamdance, Nantucket, SXSW, Rome, Woodstock, and other film festivals, and have gone on to theatrical, DVD and cable distribution.听 He’s also line produced pilots, industrials, music videos, and shorts.
Prior to line producing, Arthur worked in just about every department, for ABC, NBC, BBC America, MSNBC, the Knitting Factory, and various independent production companies.听 He holds a B.F.A. from NYU.鈥
Ben Wolf:
Ben鈥檚 experience spans several continents, genres, and styles.听 He recently shot the musical听Life of an Actress听(dir. Paul Chau) and a six-hour road movie on all the towns in the U.S. called 鈥楢msterdam,鈥櫶Amsterdam Stories USA听(dirs: Rob Rombout and Rogier van Eck).听 The film won awards in Portugal and Serbia and was televised in several European countries.听Deceptive Practice听(dirs: Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein), a film on the magician Ricky Jay, screened throughout the U.S. via distributor Kino Lorber.听Food Chains听(dir. Sanjay Rawal) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and听Invitation to Dance(dir. Christian von Tippelskirch and Simi Linton) premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.听 He also lensed Arthur Vincie鈥檚 lo-fi sci-fi film听Found In Time,听Shoja Azari鈥檚 Venice Biennale entry听The King of听Black听and Marc Leland鈥檚 werewolf film听She-Wolf Rising.
Ben鈥檚 other credits include听Gold Mountain听(Student Academy Award, Best Cinematography),听Lustre听starring Victor Argo,听The Young Girl and The Monsoon听starring Terry Kinney and Diane Venora,听Requiem for Kosova听(official selection at over forty film festivals around the globe, and winner of several awards). Ben has shot across the globe, including Sarajevo, China, India, Germany, Malaysia and East Timor.
Ben teaches cinematography at 精品成人福利在线 University and has taught seminars at DocNomads in Belgium, SVA, Brooklyn College, Wright State University, and SACAC in Delhi.
NOV 29 – INGRID听JUNGERMANN (writer and director)
SCREENING – WOMEN WHO KILL
From the film听Women Who Kill, and director Ingrid Jungermann)
Along with several short films, Ingrid co-created the acclaimed web series听The Slope, and created the WGA-Nominated web series听F to 7th, featuring Amy Sedaris, Michael Showalter, Gaby Hoffmann, Olympia Dukakis and Janeane Garofalo. Her work has screened at various film festivals around the world, including the Tribeca Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival and Outfest. Ingrid, who earned her MFA at the NYU Graduate Film School, was one of听Filmmaker Magazine鈥檚 25 Faces of Independent Film and听Out Magazine‘s 100 People of the Year. Her debut feature film,听Women Who Kill, premiered in competition in the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, where she won Best Screenplay. She is currently in development at Showtime for a half-hour comedy version of听F to 7th.
Dec 6 – Alicia Slimmer (director)
SCREENING – CREEDMORIA
Alicia Slimmer听is an award winning independent filmmaker whose debut feature film,听CREEDMORIA, recently took home the听Industry Choice Award听at Dances with Films Festival in L.A., the same night she won听Audience Favorite听at the Brooklyn Film Festival.听CREEDMORIA听made its world premiere at Cinequest Film Festival, in March 2016 where it took home the听Jury Prize听for Best Narrative Feature Film Comedy.听CREEDMORIA听was recently nominated for the prestigious听Stubbornly Independent Award听at the upcoming Tallgrass Film Festival in Kansas where they presented her with the听Outstanding First Feature Award. The Hollywood Reporter says听CREEDMORIA听鈥渂oasts an exuberant comic vitality that keeps the viewer engaged.鈥澨CREEDMORIA听is a film Slimmer also produced and wrote, borrowing many elements from her own life growing up in Queens, NY, in the 1980s.听The Village Voice听called it 鈥渁 timeless lark: a rollicking, touching family yarn鈥limmer鈥檚 undying faith in these characters’ lovability gets under your skin and the movie stays warm and endearing throughout.鈥澨Entertainment Weekly听posted an exclusive sneak peek of听CREEDMORIA听online, praising its 鈥渆dgy undertones.鈥 Her previous short film,听MY FIRST CAR, premiered at Dances with Films Festival in LA and won听Best Comedy听at the 24th Annual New School Invitational Film Show. Slimmer is a member of two prestigious groups of women filmmakers: NYWIFT and Film Fatales. Slimmer鈥檚 indie approach has been highlighted in听The Wall Street Journal听online, The Hollywood Reporter, Examiner.com, Crain鈥檚 and Indiewire, and countless blogs and podcasts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband Clifton Leaf, a magazine editor and author, and their daughter.听