Within film instruction, there are times of doubt…and the easiest thing to do is give up…but don’t! When your ideas are realized, the possibilities are predictable and endless!
We are pleased to announce that CCSU Film Graduate, Rashad Frett is a selected recipient of Spike Lee’s Production Fund. Frett, who graduated from CCSU’s Film program in 2009, has since been accepted to NYU’s prestigious MFA program in Film at Tisch School of the Arts. His work has been seen in national and international film festivals.
We are extraordinarily proud of Rashad and all others who continue to pursue their passions, advance skills and tenaciously tell meaningful stories. Never give up!
The Digital Filmmaking Program at Central Connecticut State University is pleased to present, Matt Kevorkian’s MIDNIGHTS AT THE DINER. This short film was developed in Kevorkian’s senior year at CCSU and was an Official Selection within the New Filmmakers, NY Film Festival, 2018.
MIDNIGHTS AT THE DINER – Directed by Matt Kevorkian, Featuring Zach Fontanez, Amber Marie Martinez, Anthony Rivera and Gerson Daniel Echevarria. Shot on location at the Athenian Diner in, Middletown, Connecticut
For a musician, every sound can be a symphony.
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Posted by Jeffrey Teitler, Associate Professor, Central Connecticut State University
In the Fall of 2017, five Central Connecticut State University Film students produced several new works for NESN’s NEXT PRODUCER. This annual film competition and television show accepts student-productions from colleges and universities throughout the New England region.
In an unprecedented outcome, the Film Emphasis within CCSU’s Department of Communication is pleased to announce that all five students, who submitted works have been OFFICIALLY SELECTED for NESN’s NEXT PRODUCER. This semi final round includes a broadcast on the network, introductions to industry professionals such as Tom Werner and Brad Falchuk, as well as a chance to produce for the Red Sox and a job offer at the New England Sports Network.
All four CCSU student-films can be seen the NESN website by clicking the images below. Season 3 of “NESN Next Producer” will begin airing on the NESN network Saturday, Feb. 17, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Best of luck to all participants. Updates to follow.
Posted by Jeff Teitler, Associate Professor, Central Connecticut State University
THE ACT OF WOMEN by Alex Wise and Brandon Callender: These women put it all on the line for victims of the hurricane in Puerto Rico.
THE DREAM by Matthew Kevorkian: Behind this deli-worker are boxing dreams, love and no more excuses.
THE IMMIGRANT by Alexandra Murillo: For most, the American dream is a complicated process of will and grit…but for this immigrant, that dream is just beginning.
ONE MORE MILE by Michael Stadlander: For this retired US Army veteran and amateur cyclist, the win makes no difference….
For many, acting on Broadway is a fleeting dream. However, for CCSU Filmmaker, Emily Santarsiero, the goal has become a lesson in adaptation, empowerment and tenacity. Santarsiero began Digital Film Production, (Comm 228) at Central Connecticut State University in 2014. Previously, she received her BFA in Theatre from Marymount Manhattan College and was on her way to becoming a NY Actor. For personal reasons, after graduation she returned home to Connecticut, but dreams don’t just die…they take different paths.
Santarsiero’s work in Film class began with sporadic efforts in content exploration. She worked with the camera in non-committed ways and after talking about what she wanted to produce for quite some time, things began to change. Emily started to bravely apply the camera to her own life. At that time, she worked as a tea barista in West Hartford, Connecticut, but her desires to act on Broadway couldn’t be further from reach.
With passion in tow, Emily began to use the camera as a powerful tool for story-telling. She filmed comprehensively, explored her life and started an empowering quest to become a crafted theatrical performer. With her parents just rooms away, through filmmaking within her very own bedroom, no longer did Emily need to be cast and told what to act, as well as and how to act in it. Instead, she is now re-learning the craft of acting, risking and becoming the artist she trained to be. Only this time, she’s turning it into an original series.
I am pleased to present the official trailer and campaign for MY GRITTY DREAM.
Posted by Jeffrey Teitler – Associate Professor – Filmmaking – Central Connecticut State University
CCSU Film Alumnus, Kara Brewer’s latest PSA on organ donation recently won an Award of Recognition through the Best Shorts Competition. Having gone through 2 organ donations herself, the subject is quite close to her heart.
IN HER OWN WORDS.
I’m here today because of a living organ donor and I’m forever grateful for them. I was born with one small under-developed kidney that progressively failed by the time I was ten years old. Left with only two treatment options, dialysis or a kidney transplant, my pediatrician believed a transplant would be my best option for a normal life.
My parents got tested for me and in February of 1998, I received the gift of life from my dad. It lasted for 17 wonderful long years and because of him, I was allowed to accomplish so much in life. In fact, while I might now be known as the person who has survived three major brain surgeries and received two kidney transplants, my intention moving forward is to become the person who speaks up about an issue so close to my heart, through the art of filmmaking.
In April 2014, I went through a series of medical tests. I was evaluated by almost every physician on the transplant team at Yale. I was honored that four brave people in my life decided to get tested to become living donors. At that point, I was literally and figuratively, being poisoned to death by my own body. But in May of 2015, my sister became my living donor. I can’t even express in words how I felt after the surgery.
Thanks to my sister, Delia, I didn’t have to suffer for years and I’m so grateful for her. I created this short film because I wanted to thank her for being my hero, but more importantly, I want to raise a new conversation about living donation and how more people can accomplish lifesaving acts, right now. There are over 80,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. They are slowly dying.
The Living Kidney Donor Network states that the “the average wait for a deceased donor could be 5 years, and in some states, it is closer to 10 years. “It is hard to believe people have to wait this long when people can share their spare.” I want to change that.
Written by CCSU Film Alumnus, Kara Brewer
Posted by Jeffrey B. Teitler, Associate Professor – CCSU – Department of Communication
Within Central Connecticut State University’s FILMMAKING EMPHASIS, subject matter is always up to our students. Be it scripted works of fiction or non-fictional events, student-interests are used to build skills, overcome obstacles and track objectives in a cumulative way.
In these works, second-semester, CCSU FILM Students, David Rawolle and Jensun Yonjan document a passionate and political fight within the Connecticut State University System.
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