CSUN Showcase
Every year, California State University, Northridge’s Cinema and Television Arts film production program hosts a special Senior Thesis Film Showcase at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This year for their 33rd anniversary, “Ikigai” was selected to be one of the five films presented. The Golden Globes Association is a major supporter of the CTVA program and the films it produces. Read below for more details on the event through the CSUN Newsroom Media Release Article.
CSUN Senior Film Showcase program cover.
CSUN Film Showcase Media Release Article: https://newsroom.csun.edu/2024/04/15/csun-film-showcase-spotlights-tomorrows-filmmakers/
CSUN Film showcase spotlights tomorrow’s filmmakers
by Carmen Ramos Chandler, CSUN Newsroom — April 15th, 2024
The public is invited to explore these cinematic stories and preview the talents of the next generation of filmmakers on Tuesday, April 30, at California State University, Northridge’s 33rd Annual Senior Film Showcase at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The showcase, which concludes years of study for the university’s senior-level film students, is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. in the academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, located at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills.
Cinema and television arts professor Nate Thomas, who heads CSUN’s film production option, said the films in the showcase represent the best of the program.
“Our students tell stories that are personal and reflective of the realities of their lives and, to be honest, the realities of the people who go to the movies, the people who live in this country,” Thomas said. “As their films demonstrate, they have the skills to tell those stories effectively. As members of the entertainment industry, they will add new voices and perspectives to those who already entertain and sometimes provoke us with their filmmaking.”
The showcase’s host will be two-time Academy Award winner Nick Vallelonga. Vallelonga won an Oscar in 2019 as producer of that year’s “Best Picture” awardee “Green Book,” the critically acclaimed film starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. He also took home an Oscar that year for “Best Original Screenplay’ for the movie, which was based on his father’s life story. The film also earned Vallelonga an Golden Globe for “Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.”
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“Ikigai,” directed by Maren Emiko Elardo, is the story of a Japanese American girl who, in the 1970s, is trying to survive her first week of third grade in a primarily white school when her mom plans a surprise visit to her class.
A scene from “Ikigai,” directed by Maren Emiko Elardo.
CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts, housed in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, has an international reputation for producing dedicated and talented entertainment industry professionals who recognize the value of hard work as they learn and continue to perfect their craft. Its alumni work in all aspects of entertainment media, from writing, producing and directing to manning cameras and having the final say in what project is made. The Hollywood Reporter and Variety have regularly ranked CSUN among the top universities in the country for cinema and television arts education.
