Tisch Asia Student Films in Cannes Film Festival
Suu and Uchikawa, a film made by Nathanael Carton, third year student at the Graduate Film Department of Tisch School of the Arts Asia in Singapore is in the official selections of the 64th Cannes Film Festival 2011 Cinéfondation.
Selected from 1,589 entries by 360 film schools all over the world, Suu and Uchikawa is one of 16 films from 11 countries in the Cinéfondation selection. It will be vying for one of the top three prizes at Cannes this year.
Shot in Japan, Suu and Uchikawa is a film about an elderly Japanese man and his young Burmese partner. They find their union at threat when the immigration services discover that she resides in Japan illegally.
Nathanael has also earned the Panavision Grand Jury Award for his documentary "Jonathan's Home" and is currently developing two feature projects: a narrative film about a young French couple who moved to Tokyo in the 1980s and raised a family as well as a documentary film exploring the life of director Hiroshi Teshigahara and the art of flower arrangement known in Japan as ikebana.
Created in 1998 and devoted to the search for new talent, the Cinéfondation selects fifteen to twenty short and medium-length works each year from film schools all over the world. The Cinéfondation selection forms part of the Official Selection and the selected films are presented to the Cinéfondation and Shorts Jury, which awards a prize to the best three at an official Festival ceremony.
Student Academy Awards Region Three Semifinals: A Cambodian Snack by Garret Atlakson
A Cambodian Snack by Garret Atlakson, second year student at the Graduate Film Department of New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia is in the region three semi-finals of the Student Academy Awards.
A Cambodian Snack is about hunters from a remote Cambodian village. These hunters scour the countryside with staves and hoes hoping to bag eight-legged creatures living in the ground. Back at home they fry them up over an open fire for a special snack the whole family can enjoy.
About The Student Academy Awards
The Student Academy Awards is a student film competition conducted by the Academy and the Academy Foundation. Each year over 500 college and university film students from all over the United States compete for awards and cash grants, with films being judged in four categories: Animation, Documentary, Narrative and Alternative. An outstanding student filmmaker from outside the U.S. is honored each year as well.
Past winners include Spike Lee, Trey Parker, Bob Saget and Oscar winners John Lasseter and Robert Zemeckis.
Tribeca Film Festival: Braid by Hsieh Chun-Yi
Bian Zi (Braid) by Hsieh Chun-Yi, a third year student at the Graduate Film Department of New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia, was selected over 2,862 submissions to be shortlisted for this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York. His film will premiere for the first time and compete at the festival.
Bian Zi (Braid) is about a widower, Jie, following the accidental death of his wife, is unable to cope with her absence and the idea of raising his daughter, Ting, alone. Deciding it is better to end their lives than continuing with the pain of his wife's memory, Jie plans to show Ting the happiest day of her life. After several attempts to be a good father, Jie must execute the fatal decision he has made.
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in response to the September 11, 2011 attacks in the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan.
The mission of the festival is to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience. The festival celebrates New York City as a major filmmaking center.
“Nathanael, Garret and Chun-Yi exemplify the passion, determination and perseverance our students at Tisch School of the Arts Asia have in wanting to get their works seen and in the quality of their work. By doing so, they have put Singapore and the school onto the global film arena,” says Pari Sara Shirazi, President, New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia.
