Wofford Denius Longhorn Showcase Features Internationally Renowned Student Films

AUSTIN, Texas – April 7, 2014 – The Department of Radio-Television-Film at The University of Texas at Austin will host the fourth annual Wofford Denius Longhorn Showcase, which will feature 16 of this year’s best student films.

The screening will take place from 6-8:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 27 at the UT Austin Student Activity Center Auditorium (1.402), 2201 Speedway, with a Q&A and light reception to follow. It is free and open to the public.

"This annual celebration of student films features young filmmakers who go on to national and international prominence," said Paul Stekler, chair of the Department of Radio-Television-Film and the Wofford Denius Chair in Entertainment Studies. "Our filmmakers have screened at Venice, Sundance, Toronto, Dubai and other major festivals, where they have received critical acclaim."

In addition to garnering future success, many Department of Radio-Television-Film filmmakers earn awards with the films included in the showcase. Last year, three of the showcase films went on to win regional Student Academy Awards, and one of them, Brian Schwarz's "Ol' Daddy," won the national Student Academy Award in the narrative category. One of this year's showcase films, Elizabeth Chatelain's "My Sister Sarah," recently won the prestigious International Documentary Association student film award.

The event will feature the following films:

  • "My Sister Sarah," a documentary (25.5 min.) by Elizabeth Chatelain, MFA '13: Sarah is a recovering methamphetamine addict living in North Dakota, as well as the filmmaker's sister. "My Sister Sarah" is a personal look at her 15-year long struggle with drug abuse and her inspiring ability to survive this addiction. The film won the International Documentary Association (IDA) Wolper Student Documentary Award.
  • "Housekeeping," a dramatic narrative (15.5 min.) by Catherine Licata, MFA '13: Charlotte and Elliott's romantic idyll is destroyed by an unexpected arrival.
  • "Skunk," a dramatic narrative (16 min.) by Annie Silverstein, MFA '13: After her pit bull kills a skunk, 14-year-old Leila meets the neighborhood boy Marco. The two form an unlikely bond, until things begin to spin out of control and Leila is forced to protect what she loves most at the cost of her own innocence.
  • "Once Again," a documentary (18.8 min.) by John Moore, MFA '12: Through old home movies and animation, filmmaker John Moore revisits his childhood struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The film won the Barbara Jordan Media Award from the Texas Governor's Office.
  • "Something to do with Love," a romantic comedy (9.5 min.) by Matthew Koshmrl, MFA student: A hopeless romantic who is obsessed with self-defense finds herself in a fight with deadly adversaries when she attends a speed-dating event.
  • "Ain't No Ho In Me," a documentary (13.8 min.) by Jay Hubert, MFA student: World Champions. On brooms. UT's quidditch team attempts to rebuild itself after losing almost half of its players to graduation shortly after winning Quidditch World Cup VI. The film won first place at the 2014 WXWC Film Festival.
  • "Rehearsal," an experimental documentary (11 min.) by Tom Rosenberg, MFA student: An emergency crew takes meticulous care to simulate a terrorist attack for training purposes. Once the "bomb" goes off, hundreds of volunteers deliver convincing and surreal performances as stunned and mutilated blast victims. Winner of the Director's Choice award at the Black Maria Film Festival. The film has also screened at The Viennale, DokLeipzig, CPH:DOX, HotDocs, Dallas International Film Festival, L'Alternativa, Film Society at Lincoln Center's Art of the Real showcase.
  • "Hole," an experimental suspense (10 min.) by Qian Zhuang, MFA student: After moving into a new apartment, a young woman discovers a hole in her living room wall and uses it to spy on the comings and goings of her neighbor. Lonely and isolated, she begins to lose touch with reality and descends into paranoia, her desire to reach out to the neighbor on the other side of the hole growing into an obsession.
  • "I Rot a Poem," an experimental (1.5 min.) by Philip Hoover, MFA screenwriting student: A letter to home from a faraway place.

Undergraduate Student Films

  • "Evidence for Santa," a comedic narrative (5.8 min.) by Mei Makino, RTF senior: A young girl is convinced the homeless man at the park is Santa and she's determined to get the truth from her parents.
  • "Confession," a narrative drama (11 min.) by Adam Brandenburg, BS '13: An elderly priest unburdens himself to a young archbishop.
  • "Smoke Ring," a narrative drama (12 min.) by Haley Anderson, BS '13: An estranged sister and brother remember their deceased mother in a small Texas town.
  • "Shooting," an experimental (0.4 min.) by Ivan Ovalle, RTF junior: Cinematography -- A military act.
  • "Where Were You," an animated comedy (2.8 min.) by Chad Werner, RTF senior: A dinosaur, his life and what he believes to be the end of days.
  • "Ned's Rocket," an animated comedy (1.5 min.) by Kennedy J. Baruch, RTF undergrad: Space Man Ned zooms merrily through the cosmos but can never prepare for what lies at its edge. Runner-Up at the 2013 Asian Film Festival of Dallas Student Showcase, and Jury Award: 3rd Place at 2014 Texas Union Film Festival.
  • "Pine," an animated drama (1 min.) by Dylan Carter, RTF junior: A young girl learns about life and death when her father takes her to chop down an old tree.

The Longhorn Film Showcase is sponsored by Beth and Wofford Denius and the Cain Foundation, with contributions from R&R Partners David Weeks and Suzanne Hofmann Erickson; Susan Dirks; and Ron Standifer.

For more information about the Longhorn Film Showcase, visit http://rtf.utexas.edu/showcase/longhorn-denius-film-showcase-2014. If you are unable to attend and are interested in a Blu-Ray or DVD of the showcase, please contact RTF-submissions@austin.utexas.edu.

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Contacts: Laura Byerley, (512) 471-2182; or Elana Wakeman, (512) 471-6617.

Marc Speir
Senior Content Producer