By LiLi Tan
Daily Bruin Contributor
Acting, drawing, screenwriting will all come alive on stage and
on the big screen for a nine-day celebration of theater, animation
and film.
Starting Friday, undergraduate and graduate students in the UCLA
School of Theater, Film and Television will be able to present all
their hard work to friends, family, and other audience members at
the UCLA Festival 2000.
“It is a presentation of everything done by UCLA’s
School of Theater, Film and Television. The Festival includes all
of the films that have been made ““ live-action and animated
““ and theatrical events,” said Hal Ackerman, professor
of screenwriting and chairman of the festival organizing
committee.
Instead of just a showing of a few select films and
performances, every single piece done by students will be shown to
their fellow classmates, friends, family and industry people.
Thus, Festival 2000 may open the door for actors and filmmakers
to get a foot into the film and television industry.
“We’ve had many whose careers have started here at
this celebration,” Ackerman explained.
Industry people are not the only ones who might provide a look
into show business. Three alumni, Gina Prince-Bythewood
(“Love and Basketball”), Alexander Payne
(“Election”) and Tim Robbins (“Dead Man
Walking”) will also appear to speak about what they learned
during their days at UCLA and their experiences out of college. Tim
Robbins will receive this year’s award for “Filmmaker
of the Year” on Wednesday, June 14.
Besides these three notable appearances, one entire night will
be devoted to honoring those films selected to appear for the
“Spotlight Awards” presentation on Thursday, June
15.
“It’s like the Cannes Film Festival of the
West,” Ackerman said.
Among those outstanding films will be Carl Pfirman’s
thesis project “The Confession,” which examines many
issues, such as same-sex relationships.
“I wrote, directed and edited the film. It’s a story
about faith, hypocrisy and betrayal,” said said Pfirman, who
will graduate this June with an M.F.A. “The film’s
engaging issues are fairly political, (dealing) with gay people and
Catholicism and the whole notion of people spending a great deal of
their lives together, yet their relationship is still not legally
and politically recognized.”
While other films may not go deep into political issues, other
Spotlight winners present similarly unique story lines. Shane
Acker’s piece “The Hangnail” is a story about a
tiny piece of skin that tears a friendship apart. Another film by
Kerryn Z. Miller, “Dim Bulb”, follows the adversities
of “Phil Lament,” a light bulb who refuses to
shine.
Animated films will also be lighting up the screen. Artists
worked on their animated films for two quarters, inking and
painting every one of their drawings by hand to follow the
traditional two-dimensional animation style. “Carnival of
Animation” will be presenting films created in the UCLA
Animation Workshop Saturday.
One of the animated films that will be presented is by Lynn
Okimura, a fifth-year graduating art student. Her film,
“Japanese Roll Call,” was inspired by a former comedic
performer from Hawaii.
“There’s singing, dancing, surprise and comedy all
rolled up in 50 seconds!” Lynn said. “It is my first
film. So it means a lot to me. I am very proud to be included with
all the experienced and extremely talented filmmakers in the UCLA
Animation Workshop. I hope the audience will laugh their heads
off.”
Festival 2000 will feature a wide array of films from
politically oriented films to animated comedies, and is sure to
provide many different subject matters for audience members to
enjoy. The festival does not present a single dominant theme.
“We call ourselves “˜a hundred different
voices’ because that is really how the film school is,”
Ackerman said. “The only real theme would be voicing our
opinions and self-expressions. So, really, the only things are
someone’s creativity and passion.”
FILM: UCLA Festival 2000 starts Friday. All events are free. To
RSVP to any event, or for more information, please call (310)
825-5761, or visit www.tft.ucla.edu/festival2000.