Press release

UC Davis Film Festival Hosted by Davis Varsity Theatre

The Davis Varsity Theatre presents the Department of Theatre and Dance’s UC Davis Film Festival produced in association with UC Davis Technocultural Studies and co-sponsored by Film Studies and Art Studio. The festival, now in its eleventh year, gives students the opportunity to present their short films and receive feedback from faculty who are professionals in film, television, and new media.The UC Davis Film Festival plays at the Davis Varsity Theatre Wednesday and Thursday, May 25–26, at 8:30 p.m.Tickets are $7 and $10, available at the Davis Varsity Theatre box office starting May 18.

The annual UC Davis Film Festival sets your finger on the pulse of student-produced cinema. Each year the array of short films is unpredictable and exciting. Filmmakers include a wide range of undergraduate and graduate students from across the campus. Categories include comedy, drama, animation, documentaries and all things in between.

This year’s festival has received approximately 50 submissions. When asked what drew them to the festival, many past and current participants noted the opportunity to see their work on the ‘big screen,’ as well as the chance to engage with UC Davis faculty in the arts. Via a pre-submission schedule, students are offered constructive criticism and help with how to take their work to the next level.

Student producer Pamela Orebaugh, a graduating English and Film Studies double major reflects on her three-year history with the festival, “It’s great to see how much it’s grown and improved over the years. Each festival tends to have its own flavor and style. I’m really excited this year because of the quality of the films; that is to say on a technical, visual, and aesthetical level the submissions this year are phenomenal. It’s unfortunate all 50 submissions can’t be exhibited.”

There are familiar names returning to the festival including last year’s big winners Collin Davey and Andrew Blalock. Collin Davey is a doctoral candidate in the English department who won 2010 Best Director for his dramatic short “Apartment 9.” He returns this year submitting another visually stunning, black and white piece, “The Story.”

Andrew Blalock is an alumnus of the Film Studies program. In 2010 he won awards for three very different films. His comedic piece “Ollie Goes to Davis” about the adventure of his dog’s day on the town won Best Comedy. His experimental piece, “The Future of Twitter,” exploring human relationship to self in the age of digital technology and social networking, won Best Editing as well as Honorable Mention Experimental. His third film, “Needed,” a stop-motion animation about a piece of clay coming to life, won Best Animation as well as Audience Choice.

Submissions may be no longer than ten minutes including credits. Awards will be given in many categories. A faculty group curates the program and winners receive prizes. In the past these have been invitations to visit sets and working environments of professional faculty who work in Los Angeles and other industry centers.

In addition to student producer Pamela Orebaugh, the festival is directed by three UC Davis faculty producers: Professors Sarah Pia Anderson and John Iacovelli, Department of Theatre and Dance, and Professor Jesse Drew, Technocultural Studies. The faculty producers serve as advisors along with other UC Davis faculty: Jaimey Fisher, Film Studies and German; Darrin Martin, Art Studio; Maggie Morgan, Theatre and Dance; Pablo Ortiz, Music; and Julie Wyman, Technocultural Studies.

Faculty Producer Bios

Sarah Pia Anderson is by profession a director of theatre, film, and television. She is considered to be one of the top women directors of English language drama. She has directed at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre, Abbey Theatre (Dublin), Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh), on Broadway, and The Shakespeare Theater at the Folger (Washington, DC). Professor Anderson also directs for film and television. Work includes (Emmy Award winning television series) “Prime Suspect: Inner Circles” (starring Helen Mirren) for Granada Television in Britain, and in the U.S. “Nothing Sacred: Roman Catholic Holiday” (Winner of the Peabody Award for Television Drama Series, and a Prism Award for Directing), episodes of (Emmy award winning dramas)” ER,” “Ally McBeal,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Huff” (starring Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt and Blythe Danner), (Golden Globe winner) “Ugly Betty” (starring Salma Hayek and America Ferrera), and (Golden Globe nominated) “Big Love” for HBO (Starring Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Chloe Sevigny), and recently the first three episodes of a six-part drama series for British television: “Scott & Bailey.”

Jesse Drew is Director of the UC Davis Technocultural Studies program. His work as a media artist and writer seeks to challenge the complacent relationship between the public and new technologies. His media work has been exhibited widely at such venues as the San Francisco Film Arts Festival, the ZKM in Germany, the World Wide Video Festival (Amsterdam), Incident (Brussels), Taos Talking Pictures, Dallas Film and Video Festival, the Mill Valley Film and Video Festival, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the American Indian Film and Video Festival, as well as international broadcast and cablecast outlets. His writings have appeared in numerous publications and journals as well as several anthologies, such as Resisting the Virtual Life (City Lights Press) and Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture (City Lights Press). Before coming to UC Davis he headed the Center for Digital Media and was Associate Dean at the San Francisco Art Institute.

John Iacovelli, an Emmy Award winning designer, teaches in the UC Davis Department of Theatre & Dance Master of Fine Arts design program. Professor Iacovelli has designed more than 200 productions at theatres across the nation, including the critically acclaimed TONY nominated Broadway revival of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded Iacovelli the coveted 2001 prime-time Emmy Award for his art direction of the A&E broadcast of Peter Pan. In addition to his theatre work, Iacovelli is a television and film production designer and art director for such shows as “Ed,” “Babylon 5,”  “The Cosby Show,” “Resurrection Blvd.,” and the films “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and “Ruby in Paradise.” He holds a Master of Fine Arts in scenic design and art direction from New York University.

What: The UC Davis Film Festival, an evening of unpredictable and exciting short graduate and undergraduate student films including comedy, drama, animation, documentaries and more

Where: Davis Varsity Theatre, 616 Second Street, Davis 95616

When: Wednesday–Thursday, May 25–26, 8:30 pm

Tickets: $7 each night; $10 two-night pass available at Davis Varsity Theatre starting May 18

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