KCETS FINE CUT 14th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF STUDENT FILMS
HONORS FILMMAKERS FROM EIGHT SCHOOLS PREMIERING SEPTEMBER 20
Four-Part Series to Showcase Student Films from AFI, CalArts, Columbia College Hollywood, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Loyola Marymount, UCLA and USC
Los Angeles,
Calif. - September 8, 2011 - KCET, along with the Bridges/Larson and Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundations, presents Fine Cut: The 14th Annual Festival of Student Films, honoring filmmakers from eight renowned schools across Southern California. The four-part series will showcase some of the finest documentaries, comedic, dramatic and animated shorts by students. Hosted by actor Kevin Kilner, the series is set to premiere on September 20, 2011 and will air every Tuesday at 10 p.m. on KCET.
This seasons participating student filmmakers hail from American Film Institute (AFI), California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Columbia College Hollywood, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Loyola Marymount University, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC).
Fine Cut is a longstanding tradition in KCET programming and we are excited to showcase another year of exceptional student films, said Bohdan Zachary, vice president of broadcasting and program development for KCET, who oversees the annual series. Each year, we are amazed by the abundance of talent and take great pride in introducing the students work to our broad, diverse viewership.
Fine Cut: KCETs Festival of Student Films, produced by Catherine Oser, premieres with The Ambassadors Wife directed by Sara Akhteh of USC. The film tells the story of a young bride in 1946 who relocates to South America with her ambassador husband. Disconnected from her homeland, she finds that liberation from her mores comes at a price.
For the 14th consecutive season, Fine Cut is made possible by the Bridges/Larson Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting programs that serve film students. Fine Cut is also sponsored by the Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, which supports young artists and community arts programs.
Films are chosen by professors and submitted to KCET for final selection. Fine Cut showcases films as diverse as the students who make them. Projects making the final cut have ranged from nail-biting suspense to gut-wrenching stories of love and loss.
For most filmmakers, Fine Cut is their television debut - and often that break leads to bigger breaks. In 2004, for example, two films in the Fine Cut series not only were viewer favorites, but also got noticed by the producers of the PBS documentary and film series Independent Lens. Their projects aired nationally later that year.
Other featured filmmakers have embarked on careers in film or television. Among the former students featured in previous seasons of Fine Cut are Tricia Brock (AFI), who directed an episode of Greys Anatomy in 2006; Adam Finberg (AFI), director and producer of After Katrina: Rebuilding St. Bernard Parish; J.R. Arinaga (USC), editorial production assistant on Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon; Eli Akira Kaufman (UCLA), production assistant on Memoirs of a Geisha; Sean Jiminez (Cal Arts), who is now an animator at Walt Disney Television Animation; and Ham Tran whose short film, The Anniversary, was short listed for an Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category.
In celebration of this years Fine Cut series, the Vista Theatre and KCET hosted a sneak peek screening of selected films on September 7th.
Detailed information about the all of the film shorts in this years series is available at kcet.org/finecut, which includes filmmaker biographies, film synopses, video streaming and discussion boards. Below, please find a complete list of films and scheduled airdates:
Tuesday, September 20
The Ambassadors Wife
Director: Sara Akhteh, USC
Photographs
Director: Christina Manrique & Brendan Clogher, Loyola Marymount University
Delayed
Director: David Herman, AFI
18 Minutes
Director: Alexis Echavarria, Idyllwild Arts Academy
Tuesday, September 27
From the Core
Director: Adriana Montenegro, UCLA
Life On Earth
Director: Jeffrey Keith, AFI
The Other Side
Director: Benjamin Hayes, Idyllwild Arts Academy
Tuesday, October 4
The Absence
Director: Alex DeMille, UCLA
Ellen
Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, USC
American Sweetheart
Director: Karin Binanto, Columbia College Hollywood
Producer: Avril Ilejay
Tuesday, October 11
Crushed
Producer: L. Warren Thompson, USC Peter Stark Producing Program
Director: Max Epstein, USC
Cowboys & Indians
Director: George Valos, Loyola Marymount University
Dad?
Director: Zesung Kang, Cal Arts
Family Tradition
Director: Carl Flood, Columbia College Hollywood
About The Bridges/Larson Foundation
The Bridges/Larson Foundation was created by filmmaking collaborators James Bridges and Jack Larson in 1992, just before Bridges death. The writer and director of films such as Urban Cowboy and The China Syndrome, Bridges was passionate about encouraging educators to train the next generation of filmmakers. Actor and producer Jack Larson--perhaps best known as cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the 1950s TV version of Superman--has upheld Bridges vision by consistently funding programs that serve film students. In addition to supporting Fine Cut, the Bridges/Larson Foundation has made major donations to the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Over the years, the foundation has expanded its purview beyond film-education programs. Larson is especially proud of funding AIDS research and a local organization called Lamp Community, which works to end homelessness.
About The Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation
Lloyd Eugene Rigler, a California industrialist, and investor, Lawrence E.
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KCETS FINE CUT 14th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF STUDENT FILMS 
