UCLA TFT Alumni Newsletter - February 17, 2017
UCLA TFT Alumni Newsletter
February 17, 2017
Welcome to the TFT Alumni Newsletter
Questions, comments? Email alumni@tft.ucla.edu
Submit your alumni news to:  www.tft.ucla.edu/alumninewsupdate
News and TFT Alumni Events
Garrett Bradley's Short Film "Alone" Streaming on The NYT Website
Alumna  Garrett Bradley's (MFA '12) new and award-winning short film "Alone" is streaming on the  The New York Times website. The 13-minute short film is described as an "investigation into the layers of mass incarceration and its shaping of the modern black American family (as) seen through the eyes of a single mother in New Orleans."
Quyen Tran One of 10 Rising Directors of Photography
Alumna Quyen Tran was profiled by  American Cinematographer for a report on 10 rising directors of photography who are making their mark. Quyen was cinematographer for two films which premiered at Sundance this year, "The Little Hours" and "Deidra & Laney Rob a Train".
Alumni Screenplay Chosen as Zoetrope Contest Finalist
TFT Alumna Katharine Hackett's (MFA '09) screenplay "Purify My Heart" was chosen as a finalist of the Fourteenth Annual American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest from more than 1,600 entries. UCLA GSEIS alumnus Bret Polish (ME '07) was also chosen as finalist for his script "Esperanza".
A full list of screenplay winners can be found here.
Season 2 of VICE World of Sports: Rivals
Premieres Wednesday, February 22 at 10:30PM on VICELAND

Alumnus Jeremy White (MFA '13) produces the show, which airs Wednesdays @ 10:30pm on VICELAND.

Season 1 of VICE World of Sports recently won the 2017 Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Sports Program.

VWOS Season 2 Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3wZB0WPgGE

Viceland Page (where people can also watch past and current episodes with their cable login):

https://www.viceland.com/en_us/show/vice-world-of-sports

TFT Alumna Now A Rising Star of Astrobiology
From UCLA Newsroom:

UCLA postdoctoral fellow's career path puts her on the hunt for alien life.

Aomawa Shields (MFA '01) studies the climate on distant planets. Her aim: to find those most likely to host alien life. The astrobiologist is a National Science Foundation astronomy and astrophysics postdoctoral fellow working in UCLA's department of physics and astronomy.

But she was also an actress with an M.F.A. from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television That’s given her a secret "superpower" that's helped her make science accessible, a talent that’s attracted nearly 1.5 million views  of her engaging TED talk on her search for other life forms in the universe.

“I’m an African-American female astronomer and a classically trained actress who loves to wear makeup and read fashion magazines. So I am uniquely positioned to appreciate contradictions in nature,” she said in her TED talk, laughing, “and how they can inform our search for the next planet where life exists.” 

Read the full article here.
Dustin Lance Black's Series "When We Rise" Will Premiere on ABC on Feb. 27th

TFT alumnus and Academy Award-winner Dustin Lance Black’s ('96) new 5-part, 8-hour series "When We Rise," will premiere Monday, Feb. 27 on ABC.

TFT alumna Jacqueline Martinez (MFA '13) served as costumer on the series.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwvgMNE9ozg

The All-Female VR News Crew Fighting Fake News
From Elle.com:

On the eve of the Women's March on Washington, the Ryot Girls were hyped. The nine women make up an unlikely team of news ninjas, with past jobs in law, academia, and entertainment. (One of their camerawomen was on the beloved ABC Family show  Greek. Another team member made it onto  American Idol while interning at the White House.) Now the all-female team works together for RYOT, a  social justice news network using bigger platforms like The Huffington Post to blast in-the-field content about the  Dakota Access Pipeline,  prison reform, and modern dolphin colonies. ( Which are actually pretty amazing.)

As Americans on all sides of the issues mobilized and protested this past weekend, the Ryot Girls had their biggest task yet: record the protests, format them for virtual reality (VR), and pump them—ASAP—to Facebook's 360 platform, where they will live, as the Shark Tank team says, in perpetuity. (If you can't handle the 40-minute live-stream, a 4-minute recap of the day's events is available on YouTube in both virtual reality and 2-D formats.)

"We decided to have an all-woman crew," managing editor Averie Timm says, "because we felt like these protests [before, during, and after] the Women's March are some of the most historic moments for feminists in our lifetime. What better way to cover it than with an all-female team?"

"We delegate," documentary filmmaker Amy Rosner says. "We trust each other. We dump our egos. We don't have to monitor ourselves. It's amazing how well women collaborate."

"And we're a team," says Nora Kirkpatrick ('06), a producer and director who also (fun fact!) played accordion for Edward Sharpe. "When one of us does a good job, all of us do a good job. We get the job done together."

Read the full article at Elle.com.
Free Proud Bruin Business Decal for Bruin Business Owners
These decals will be distributed to Bruins who own businesses and who are registered on UCLA ONE. If you own a business, please email us ( careerprograms@alumni.ucla.edu ) with the name of your company and your preferred mailing address, and we will ship you a Proud Bruin Business decal for you to display at your organization.
 
If you are a Bruin business owner, you are encouraged to register on
UCLA ONE and check the box for “Bruin Business Owner.” We’re excited to see these decals proudly displayed all over the globe!
Sketch to Screen 2017
Costume Design Panel and Celebration
February 25th, 2017

Presented by Swarovski, Dean Teri Schwartz and UCLA TFT’s David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design, the seventh annual Sketch to Screen Costume Design Panel and Celebration will take place on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017 at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall.

On the eve of the Academy Awards each year, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Chair and Founding Director of the Copley Center, welcomes a stellar group of international costume designers to the UCLA TFT campus to discuss their craft. With Professor Landis moderating, the Sketch to Screen panelists engage in a thought-provoking panel discussion about the central role costume designers play in cinematic storytelling. Audience members are given an invaluable look into some of the most successful creative minds in Hollywood.

More information on the event can be found here.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THE 2017 PANEL AND RECEPTION, VISIT: www.tft.ucla.edu/sketchtoscreen2017

TFT Alumni Nights with The Archive Presents:
Smooth Talk - February 27th

Smooth Talk and the short film Recital, which precedes the feature, are part of the ongoing program, “TFT Alumni Nights with The Archive”.

We offer FREE admission for TFT Alumni who say, “TFT ALUMNI” at the box office at the Billy Wilder Theater.

February 27, 2017 - 7:30 pm at the  Billy Wilder Theater.

Recital  (1978, 20 min.)

Dir. Stephanie Beroes.  Distributor: LUX. Cinematographer: S. Beroes, Janis Lipzin, Pamela Mosher, Keehn Thompson. With: Button Quinn, Pamela Mosher, Sharon Wood, Wendy Olsen, Babeth Van Loo.

Smooth Talk  (1985)

Fifteen year-old Connie (a nubile Laura Dern) and her friends use their summer break in Northern California to experiment with the trappings of womanhood--eyeshadow, hairspray, and revealing clothing—as they shakily navigate this new, adult world of crushes, and confront the perils of sexual exploration. This narrative debut from Joyce Chopra (her first few works were documentaries) dives headfirst into that time when boys aren’t just mysterious bodies, but also opportunities for the heretofore unknown mobility represented by that ultimate symbol of American freedom (and danger): his car. With hints of  Lolita and the decade’s earlier  Fast Times at Ridgemont High, this under-appreciated coming-of-age story is a sobering yet profound entry from the John Hughes era as only a woman could materialize.

35mm, color, 92 min.  Dir. Joyce Chopra.  Production: Goldcrest Films International; Nepenthe Productions. Distribution: Paramount Pictures [Swank]. Producer: Martin Rosen. Based on the short story by Joyce Carol Oates. Screenwriter: Tom Cole. Cinematographer: James Glennon. Production Design: David Wasco. Editor: Patrick Dodd. Composer: Bill Payne; Russ Kunkel; George Massenburg. With: Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Elizabeth Berridge, Levon Helm, Treat Williams.

Female-Created Content Wanted for Blue Fever Platform

Blue Fever is a streaming platform for the best video content focused on women. We've carefully curated the most badass digital series, short films, comedy sketches, docu-pieces and music videos for YOU – because mainstream entertainment stars women only 15% of the time! Newsflash, Hollywood... we are half the population and we deserve more. Blue Fever is partnering with the best emerging and established creators, building a home for all of us where we can finally be seen and heard.

When Blue Fever launches, you'll be able to access this amazing content — for a fee that costs less than a month of Netflix! Soon after, we’ll offer feature-length movies and TV shows! Sign up and we’ll ping you when we launch.

If you've created female-focused video content, we want to consider it for the Blue Fever platform. Have a digital series, comedy sketch, docu-video/docu-series, short film or music video? All genres welcome! Submit below and we'll check it out and get in touch.
Frameline41 SF International LGBTQ Film Festival
Submission Open Through Feb 28

Founded in 1977, the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival is the longest-running, largest and most widely recognized LGBTQ film exhibition event in the world. As a community event with an annual attendance of over 63,000, the Festival is the most prominent and well-attended LGBTQ arts program in the Bay Area.

FRAMELINE41 is a competitive film festival with cash prizes attached to each of our Audience Awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary and Best Short. Frameline41 will also have two juried awards for Outstanding First Feature and Outstanding Documentary Feature.

Frameline41 Submission Deadlines & Fees

 Earlybird Deadline:  December 19, 2016 – $25.00
• Regular Deadline: January 25, 2017 – $40.00
 Late Deadline: February 15, 2017 – $60.00
• Extended Late Deadline: February 28, 2017 – $75.00

Use Withoutabox to submit online: 

The San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival accepts online entries submitted via Withoutabox.com, which provide cost-saving, paperless submission to film festivals around the world. Withoutabox’s internet-only submission platforms feature online applications via one master entry form, online fee payments, press kits, and the option to use Secure Online Screeners, an economical, eco-friendly, and secure alternative to traditional hard-copy DVD submissions.

Click here for more info.

Job Listings and Available Services
UCLAOne Jobs

Visit UCLAOne for UCLA Alumni job listings.
Script Coverage Tool for Bruins
TFT alumnus Curtis Baxter (MFA '15) has developed, with a team of UCLA alumni, a new, Bruins-only script coverage tool called nerative.

He describes it as " Hollywood's newest, cheapest, and best way to receive professional caliber story coverage on scripts or treatments. Where do alumni come in? Bruins only team. Welcome to nerative."

Please send all inquiries to info@nerative.com.

View the website at nerative.com.
Promotions
The Wallis Presents:
946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
CTG Present: Good Grief
GOOD GRIEF
World Premiere

By Ngozi Anyanwu
Directed by Patricia McGregor

Nkechi was a good Nigerian girl. She did everything right. Went to med school. Made plans. Then life happened. And plans changed. A first-generation coming-of-age journey of love, loss, and growing into adulthood, Good Grief follows Nkechi as she navigates Pennsylvania’s suburbs alongside her childhood crush, her would-be-philosopher brother—the king of the cul-de-sac—and her immigrant parents. A fresh voice in American theatre, Ngozi Anyanwu makes her playwriting debut with this World premiere.

$25 Special Ticket Price
(Price Levels A & B, Reg. $70-$45)

For Performances - February 26 - March 12, 2017
Use code:  GGTIX
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org/Promo

*Offer available online, by phone or in person.  Not valid on previously purchased tickets.  Subject to availability.  Cannot be combined with any other offers. Not available on March 5.

https://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/kirk-douglas-theatre/2016-17/good-grief/
AIRPLANE LIVE!
The crème de la crème of parody movies, Airplane!, comes to you LIVE on stage in a show that both satirizes and lovingly embraces the comedy classic you already know by heart.

Follow the tormented former fighter pilot, Ted Striker, as he tries to win back the affections of stewardess Elaine Dickenson on the doomed flight 209.

Full of the moments you love, and some new takes you might not expect, this ain't no passive theater event. Shout out lines, dance, sing and more when you join us aboard the Trans-American Flight traveling from LAX to Chicago O'Hare. Just don't eat the fish!

Alumna Chrisi Talyn Saje (MFA '11) wrote the adaptation, will produce the show, and plays Elaine. 


February 10th - March 18th. Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 8PM & 11PM

The Flight Theatre at The Complex
6472 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Tickets $20.00.  UCLA TFT alumni: $12.50 with discount code: UCLATFT when ordering online only
TFT Alumni Affairs | UCLA | Email TFT Alumni AffairsUCLA TFT

Noah Green 
Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs, School of Theater, Film and Television
Make sure your alumni contact info is up to date.