03/25/2018

College News, Faculty News


The New Media Lab at Macaulay Honors College is now accepting submissions for the 10th Annual CUNY Film Festival, which will take place April 20, 21 and 22 in New York City.

Students, alumni and current faculty from every CUNY campus are invited to submit their work online. Short films of up to 60 minutes are accepted in any genre. There is no submission fee and no limit to the number of recent works that filmmakers may submit. Deadline for entries is midnight, February 26, 2018.

Film entries will be reviewed by a jury of noted filmmakers, students, media professionals and actors. Filmmakers whose work is accepted into the festival will have opportunities to promote their films, review the work of their peers, engage with industry professionals, and earn small prizes. Finalists will be notified on or around April 7, and prize winners announced at a gala event April 22.

15 CUNY Film Festival awards will be presented, including the new Frederator Animation Award, sponsored by the well-known animation studio. In addition, a special jury of students will convene to select the new Students’ Choice Award. Also of note: the LGBTQ Image Award will, for the second year, honor the film that creates a strong positive image for the LGBTQ community.

Films will be screened on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21, with prizes awarded to top filmmakers at a gala event Sunday, April 22. The awards event will include a panel discussion and will take place at Macaulay Honors College, 35 West 67th Street. All CUNY Film Festival events are free and open to the public.

The CUNY Film Festival is the largest and longest-running student-produced film festival of its kind. It was established in 2009 by a group of Macaulay Honors College students to provide a forum for the CUNY filmmaking community: celebrate the diversity of its artistic voices, highlight its creative contributions to filmmaking, and encourage professional connections. The festival as grown since its grassroots beginnings, attracting more entries and attendees than ever in 2017; and this year the screenings will take place at Lehman College and at Macaulay.

In addition to its importance to the filmmaking community, the CUNY film festival is run by students and provides a framework for experiential learning as they plan and produce a major public event. New Media Lab Director Robert Small says, “the festival’s production crew is made up of media students who spend the semester handling production duties, social media promotion, event management and much more for the festival.”

For more information and complete rules, please visit cunyff.org

Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York offers exceptional students a uniquely personalized education with access to the vast resources of the nation’s largest urban university and New York City itself. Selected for their top high school records and leadership potential, Macaulay students receive a full-tuition scholarship, a laptop and technology support, and an Opportunities Fund to pursue global learning, research and service opportunities. Macaulay students enroll in one of eight CUNY senior colleges (Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Hunter, John Jay, Lehman, Queens and Staten Island).

Directed by industry leader and award-winning producer Robert Small, the Macaulay New Media Lab is an atelier-style learning center where students actively engage in content development for all screens (e.g. TV, tablets, phones). They incorporate user engagement methods to create content and also learn about production models for digital studios, prototypes and pitches, digital deal-making, creation of a new media bible, and selling content to multiple distribution channels.

Contact:
Robert Small
Director, Macaulay New Media Lab
robert.small@mhc.cuny.edu
917.570.2992

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