Hot on the heels of winning three American Advertising “Addy” awards for her television advertisements, SF Digital Media student Audra Rauner has been awarded the SFC Provost’s Research Opportunity (PRO) grant to compete in the Tallahassee Film Festival’s 48 Hour film competition.
The Tallahassee Film Festival is one of the proud sponsors of the FSU Student Life Cinema Stanley Kubrick Film Festival (March 19-26, 2010). The selected films most clearly represent the brilliant vision of Kubrick’s work, so don’t miss your chance to see these stunning masterpieces on the big screen. Check out http://movies.fsu.edu/kubrick for more information.
TALLAHASSEE – The Tallahassee Film Festival, presented by Florida Commerce Credit Union, announces three individuals to be honored at this year’s festivities. The 2010 TFF Special Awards will be given to: Don Ungurait, winner of the Lifetime Performance Award, Barry Jenkins, winner of the Distinguished Achievement Award, and Eyad Zahra, winner of the Emerging Filmmaker Award.  These three talented and respected filmmakers will receive their awards and appear at the 2010 TFF to speak, lecture and participate in workshops.
Don Ungurait is the founding dean of the Florida State University School of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts. In 1990, Ungurait was recognized by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers as the Film Educator of the Decade He has directed more than 50 plays, musicals and operas and has received more than 200 producer-director credits.
Barry Jenkins is an FSU Film School graduate best known for his award-winning film Medicine for the Melancholy. The film earned Jenkins critical acclaim and landed him a place in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Faces of Independent Film.” Medicine for Melancholy also received three Independent Spirit Award nominations, a Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Director, and a Best Film nomination at the Mar del Plata Film Festival.
Eyad Zahra, another FSU graduate, is an up-and-coming young director whose latest film, The Taqwacores, debuted at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as an Official Selection. In his last year at FSU, Zahra wrote and directed “Distance from the Sun,” which played in more then 20 film festivals and went on to win a best student short film award in Dubai.
“We are delighted to honor these renowned artists and their contributions to the profession of filmmaking,” said Carolyn Smith, Chairman of the 2010 Tallahassee Film Festival. “Their participation in this year’s festival signifies the importance of the Tallahassee Film Festival and the state of Florida in the film world.  Finally this is one more reason why Tallahassee residents need to come and participate in the festival and take advantage of this opportunity to see creative and innovative films.”
Past winners at the TFF have been honored with many other awards locally and nationally, including:
Last year’s Best Narrative Feature, A Deal is a Deal, won Best Comedy Feature and Best Actress, Imelda Staunton, at the California Independent Film Festival.
The 2009 TFF winner in the Best College Student Film category, In the Name of the Son, received two of the American Film Institute’s most honored awards for directing: the Shaffner Award and the Rogers Award.
The 2009 TFF Featured Short Bohemibot won a 2009 Student Academy Award.
About the Tallahassee Film Festival:
The Tallahassee Film Festival (TFF), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is an annual, independent film festival in Tallahassee, FL, founded in 2008. In a short time, TFF has attracted thousands of visitors to the Big Bend region, including professionals, student filmmakers and film buffs of all ages. TFF offers visitors independent and award-winning film screenings from around the world, plus workshops, lectures and networking opportunities with film industry professionals. The 2010 festival, presented by FCCU, takes place April 8 – 11 and this year’s theme is See You in the Dark!
TALLAHASSEE -- The Tallahassee Film Festival (TFF), presented by Florida Commerce Credit Union, announces two buzz-worthy films to be screened at the 2010 festival thanks to the Florida State University’s Torchlight Program.
Collapse -- an official selection of the 2009 Toronto Film Festival, is a documentary/horror film directed by Chris Smith. Roger Ebert gave the movie four stars, and TIME Magazine has called it “hypnotic and haunting.”
Thespians -- directed by Warren Skeels, is a documentary film following high school theatre troupes as they audition, rehearse and compete in the largest high school theatre festival in the world. The film has yet to be released to the public.
About the Tallahassee Film Festival:
The Tallahassee Film Festival (TFF), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is an annual, independent film festival in Tallahassee, FL, founded in 2008. In a short time, TFF has attracted thousands of visitors to the Big Bend region, including professionals, student filmmakers and film buffs of all ages. TFF offers visitors independent and award-winning film screenings from around the world, plus workshops, lectures and networking opportunities with film industry professionals. The 2010 festival, presented by FCCU, takes place April 8 – 11 and this year’s theme is See You in the Dark!