Friday, December 26

Alumna uses experience of growing up in LA to portray lead in coming-of-age play

Estela Garcia first read Sandra Cisneros’ coming-of-age novel, “The House on Mango Street,” in the ninth grade. She said it was the first time she had encountered anything that reflected her life growing up in South Los Angeles. Read more...

Photo: Alumnus Miebaka Yohannes stars in the Greenway Court Theatre’s production of “The House on Mango Street.” He plays multiple roles including the protagonist’s brother, a schoolchild and a man who lives in the protagonist’s community. (Axel Lopez/Daily Bruin)


LA Taiwan Academy to screen LGBTQ projects created by UCLA grad students

Taiwan elected its first female president in 2016 and, just a year later, the Taiwanese constitutional court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. The events marked some of Asia’s first steps toward a more socially progressive society and inspired graduate production design student Hogan Lee to showcase LGBTQ-themed films made by female Asian filmmakers, he said. Read more...

Photo: Graduate students Jessica Fuh, Hogan Lee and Amber Ha helped organize an event that entails film screenings and a roundtable discussion focused on LGBTQ themes. The event was inspired by Taiwan’s recent ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. (Stella Huang/Daily Bruin)


Retired lecturer talks new edition of book, TV screenwriting panel

Hal Ackerman retired from UCLA in 2015 – but he’s been back every winter quarter since. After retiring from his 30-year career as a screenwriting lecturer and returning to his hometown of New York, Ackerman has evaded East Coast winters to teach at UCLA on emeritus status, he said. Read more...

Photo: Hal Ackerman retired from UCLA in 2015 but has returned every winter quarter since to teach. In honor of the 15th anniversary of his book on screenwriting, Ackerman released an updated edition of the book and will be discussing it Monday with a panel at the Barnes & Noble in Burbank, California. (Axel Lopez/Daily Bruin)


Death within family, setbacks spur on alumnus’ film production

Creating the film “Sandy Beach” was no walk on the beach for Thanos Papastergiou. But after hospital visits, multiple delays and a thunderstorm, “Sandy Beach” has gone on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and was shortlisted for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Student Film Award. Read more...

Photo: Alumnus Thanos Papastergiou directed “Sandy Beach,” a film with no dialogue that centers on the story of a daughter and her father at a beach in Crete, Greece. The film was inspired by the death of his uncle and was selected as a Toronto International Film Festival pick. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)




New class explores black horror genre’s themes of survival, racism

This fall, students will delve into the hidden meanings of “Get Out’s” bloody brain extractions for course credit. Professor Tananarive Due’s fall course, African American studies 188A: “Special Courses in African American Studies: Sunken Place: Racism, Survival, and Black Horror Aesthetic,” will explore “Get Out” and other black horror films through the lenses of racism, survival and dystopia. Read more...

Photo: Professor Tananarive Due will teach African American Studies 188A, a course that will feature films like the 2017 horror film “Get Out.” Students will also be asked to analyze black horror films such as “Blacula” and written works such as Due’s own novel, “The Good House.” (Courtesy of Daniel Ebon)



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