Kerry Conran, alumnus 1988, Program in Film and Video, formally Live Action, wrote and directed "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", which premiered Sept. 17, 2004 First-time director Kerry Conran was given a $40 million by Paramount to make the action movie. The cast included Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon, Angelina Jolie, and many more.

Ria de Lumen, MFA 1 Film Directing Program has been selected to premiere her narrative short My Dolly at the Washington, DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, October 13, 2004.

CalArts' student, Character Animation program filmmaker, Jahmad Rollins' animated film, The War Inside, has been selected by Savannah Film and Video Festival, and will be screened from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3 at the Trustees Theatre in Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, Georgia. This animated short shows an illustrator struggling to give life to his ideas, dreaming about what to draw, and alternately killing and creating new subjects.

Rebecca Baron, faculty, Program in Film and Video has been invited as a visiting artist to screen her work at Williams College, Williamstown, MA.

David Gerhard, alumnus, Character Animation, has been selected to screen his animated short Lucky Penny on TV. Lucky Penney will be appearing in the premiere episode of the Nicktoons Film Festival, airing on Nicktoons Sunday, October 24th at 10:00pm (ET) / 7:00pm (PT). Encore presentations include: Mon., 25th at 1:00am (ET) and 10:00pm (ET) also, Tues., Oct. 26th at 1:00am (ET)

Lucky Penny is a short, traditionally (2D) animated, student film. The story takes place in a quiet neighborhood and centers on Lester (seen left) who is reaching boiling point. Lester has had it with the lack of 'common decency" displayed by his neighbors and to his wife, Lucy's dismay, he confronts one of them.

The Film was created at CalArts. Directed by David Gerhard. 4 min 30 sec in length.
Voice Talent: Frank Terry, Brooke Keesling, Dave LebowSound Scored by Kasandra Woodring and John Hawk.

James Benning, Faculty, Program in Film and Video will be screening his recently completed (April, '04) film titiled 13 LAKES, 16mm, 135min at Viennale, Vienna International Film Festival, Oct. 2004.

Beth Bird, alumni, IM/FV will be screening her documentary, Everyone Their Grain of Sand, in the Viennale (the Vienna International Film Festival) on Monday, October 18th at 3:30 and Wednesday, October 20th at 6:00 PM. In addition to the screenings, the festival has also invited her to speak at a roundtable on globalization, on Saturday, October 16th, she has expressed her excitement about this invite.

InSITE (an important San Diego/Tijuana based arts organization) will be hosting a screening of Everyone Their Grain of Sand at the Tijuana Cultural Center (which is a major Tijuana venue) on November 20th. In conjunction with the screening they will hold a panel discussion with several well known scholars from the region on globalization and urban development in Tijuana, which she will be moderating.

Additionally, Everyone Their Grain of Sand will be part of the Los Angeles Freewaves Festival which takes place in November. This year the festival is titled "How Can You Resist" and the section of the festival she will be participating in is on November 20th, entitled "Globalize This!" The evening will feature excerpts of various works about current economic and social issues, then a Q&A with the filmmakers. That section will take place at SAJE - Strategic Actiions for a Just Economy.

Beth just received a grant from the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media to help fund distribution of the documentary.

CalArts student films have taken great honors in the 5th San Diego Asian
Film Festival, which opens on October 21, 2004, in San Diego, California.
All seven entries from Character Animation students have been selected, as
well as one alumnus' entry. These films and filmmakers are:

WELCOME TO MY LIFE
Director: Elizabeth Ito | 5 min. | Video | 2004
A humorous look at what life is like for a teenage Monster-American in an
all-American family.
Medium: traditional

CATS
Director: Chris Choy | 4 min. | Video | 2003
You want a revolution? How about a good ol' cat rebellion?
Medium: traditional

BLUE AND ORANGE
Director: Mari Inukai | 3 min. | Video | 2002
A meditation on the concept of Yin and Yang, and the filmmaker's love for
her daughter.
Medium: traditional; Sundance Official Selection

PINK BALLOONS
Director: Kataneh Vahdani | 2 min. | Video | 2003
Three imaginary characters overcome their shortcomings in order to find a
way to be free.
Medium: traditional

ADDICT
Director: Sun Young Moon | 2 min. | Video | 2003
Colors, lines, and emotions combine into a musical dance in this hypnotic
trip to another world.
Medium: traditional

SKIES OF THE FALLEN
Directors: Kevin Pai, Chris Song, Kyle Shockley, Gennedy Babichenko | 3 min.
| Video | 2004
An animated trailer to "Skies of the Fallen," a student production from
CalArts.
Medium: traditional & CGI

IL JI MAE
Directors: Kwang Min Ha, Chris Choy, Byoug Jik Lee | 5 min. | Video | 2004
Crouching Tiger-like martial arts and choreography abound in this tale based
on iljimae (Korean old traditional story).
Medium: traditional

REQUIEM
Director: Roger Oda | 3 min. | Video | 2003
A heartfelt look at World War II from a Japanese perspective.
Medium: traditional; Slamdance Official Selection

Character Animation Faculty, Sharon Wu, will co-host a roundtable discussion
with participant animation filmmakers during the festival, with SDAFF's own
animation programmer, Sam Chen, a award-winning filmmaker.

The San Diego Asian Film Foundation (SDAFF) is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to educating the community about the rich diversity of the Asian
Pacific Islander culture through films and videos. The premiere event of the
SDAFF is its annual film festival in October. One of our goals is to build
stronger ties with area schools to foster discussion and education about
Asian Cinema. The SDAFF offers student internships, cultural literacy
programs with area high schools and colleges, and a nurturing environment
for artists in San Diego. Throughout the year, we hold special events such
as our Korean Cinema Showcase and Performers Showcase that highlight Asian
and Asian American cultures and talents.

Kirsten Winters, Faculty, Experimental Animation will be screening her film Restored Weekend
will be screened at following festivals:
Animation Festival Utrecht, Netherland (Nov)
IDFA Amsterdam, Netherland (November)
Genf (Geneve) Switzerland
Int. Filmfestival Braunschweig, Germany (Nov)

Additionally, her film Restored Weekend, which has been selected to screen at the Chicago International Film Festival, Oct 7-21, 2004, has been awarded the Gold Plaque in the Experimental Short Film Category. With over 1,000 short films submitted, winning this award is quite an accomplishment.

David Fenster's Trona has been selected as part of the 2004 VIENNALE, the Vienna International Film Festival. The festival takes place from Ocober 15th through the 27th.

For more information on Trona, visit the official site.