CSULB Cinematic Arts

Happy Thanksgiving to our Film Department! We are thankful for our wonderful students and staff that have helped shaped the department into what it is today. Wishing you all a cozy and happy day to spend with family and loved ones.

Congratulations to our talented film and students behind "The Pier Poet" and animation students behind "And the Dragons Danced" that won this year's Media Arts Festival. We are incredibly proud to have had CSULB dominate the MAF Nominees and have these two projects win their respective categories in Documentary/Creative Non-fiction & Television News and Animation. Each year, students from all 23 CSU campuses compete for an opportunity to have their works critically reviewed by distinguished faculty and industry leaders, and these films representing our school took first position in two of four categories! Each winning project will receive a CSU Media Art Festival Reward, as well as a cash prize. Once again, Congratulations to these works and we hope to keep the streak going for next year's competition as well! Go Beach!

You can view the winning projects and learn more about this festival through this link: https://www.calstate.edu/SummerArts/media-arts-festival/Pages/awards.aspx

The Cinematic Arts Department wishes you a spooky halloween 👻

Shoutout to our friends at HAW Hamburg International who came to visit earlier this semester to continue our annual exchanges between the Department of Cinematic Arts at CSULB and the Department of Media Technology at HAW Hamburg. Thanks for teaching our students all about AI! We can’t wait to continue our partnership with you this summer and next fall. Looking to study abroad and take film courses in Germany? Check out our International Programs page: https://www.csulb.edu/cinematic-arts/international-programs

Shout out to Hannah Driscoll who stopped by to speak with our students this month! Thank you Hannah for offering your expertise and experience as a script supervisor!

Congrats to student Aedyn Frazer whose film "People Call Me Jeff” will screen at The Society for Visual Anthropology: Film and Media Festival in Tampa, Florida from 11/20 - 11/23! Her film produced in CSULB’s Anthropology’s department

Jeff Levy is a homeless man located in Long Beach, California. In January 2020, he finds himself on one particular street corner, not knowing that's where he'd spend for the next four years. Since then, he has found conversation, community, and love where others may have just moved on to another corner.

“This film is about the patience in which we have with ourselves, our circumstances and the people around us. The relationship I have developed with Jeff is undeniably one of my most valuable ones. I cherish the privilege I have in knowing him and the opportunity to share his story on an international platform.” – Aedyn

to earlier this month when c. Craig Patterson came to visit Prof. Kathryn Boyd-Batstone's CINE 370 safety class! c. Craig is a New Orleans filmmaker who has received distinctions from Sundance Development Track, Hillman Grad’s Rising Voices, the Nicholl Fellowship, and AmPav at Cannes Film Festival. His film FATHEAD is a NAACP Image Award nominee!

Thanks for coming to speak with our students!

Congrats to student, Lesly Beltran! Lesly is currently a Universal Studio Group Business Affairs intern. She supports the company’s Business Affairs department in tracking and reviewing various insurance certificates, PDMs, Deal Memos/Deal Terms, and Agreements for NBCU compliance. In doing so, she corresponds to production companies to acquire insurance requirements for television programming that is in the step development process of production.

About the NBCUniversal Academic Year Internship Program: The NBCUniversal Academic Year Internship Program takes place from September to April and allows students to unlock their potential by contributing to big projects in meaningful ways that matter. As an Intern, students are immersed in exciting work, experience the unique NBCU culture, and get real support & guidance for 2 semesters.

Lesly found this opportunity from our weekly email! Congrats Lesly, we’re so proud of you!

Our alums are doing BIG (and fancy) things! Shout out to alum, Riley Hodgson who had the opportunity to represent the Television Academy Foundation in the Giving Suite at the 76th Emmy Awards! Riley was previously an intern with the Television Academy and continues to work with the organization she interned with, 44 Blue Productions as a Development Fellow. Go Riley!

“It was an incredible honor representing the Television Academy Foundation. Their internship program not only gave me unique insight into the industry but led to me being offered a position at my host company. It was remarkable to see how many Emmy attendees truly cared about the Foundation’s programs and uplifting the next generation.”

Back by popular demand! Our student ambassadors Naveah and Figgy will be hosting another headshot event…spooky edition! Swing by CINE 103 on Wednesday October 30th from 10am – 12:30pm!

Join us for our first IAAM Listening session of the semester. Share your thoughts about the department and make your voice heard!

Friday October 25th

9:30 AM – 11:30 AM in CINE 127

Inclusivity Across All Media (IAAM) is committed to addressing equity, diversity and inclusivity in the CINE department and the film industry as a whole through focused outreach, discussion, assessment, reflection and action.

Help create the environment that you deserve, all are welcome!

Join CINE 100 students on Monday 10/21 for a chat with screenwriter and producer, Joshua Gilbert! His credits include “The Flash”, “Playing It Straight”, “Drop Dead Diva”, and more! All are welcome to join the event in Prof. Elyusha Vafaeisefat’s class.

A producer-level writer with a myriad of production experience, Joshua V. Gilbert spent five seasons on the writing staff of CW's The Flash. Prior to being staffed, Josh climbed the Writers' Office Assistant ladder, working on six different shows that spanned a variety of genres. In 2018, he wrote and produced an autobiographical short film -- called "Playing it Straight" (stream for free on YouTube or Vimeo) -- that premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival. That same year, his pilot -- "Boys of Summer" -- was an official selection in the third annual 'ATX Television Festival & Black List Writers Program.'

October 21 9am-10:50am

In CINE 100 (UT-108)

Today marks the last day for Cinematic Arts Community Engagement Specialist, Sarah Len and Department Chair, Adam Moore. Both Adam and Sarah will miss our incredible film students and all of the staff and faculty in CINE! 🎬🎥🫶

*pictured here with the fabulous CINE Department Coordinator, LaTanya Jones Hamilton 💕

to earlier this month when Creative Solutions hosted a panel and camera demo with our Cinematic Arts students! Thank you Creative Solutions for your impactful donation of gear to our department and for coming to speak with our students! Special shoutout to SmallHD for the free giveaway for our students and of course our guest panelists Brandon Lee Ripp , Graham Sheldon , and Chris Ray!
Thank you Teradek , SmallHD Wooden Camera Sigmapro Idphoto !

Congrats to the crew of DIASPORA including recent alum and director of the film, Takoune H. Norasingh! The film produced in the film department in 2023-2024 will screen in the The NewsFest — True Stories International Film and Writers Festival! The festival is an exciting opportunity for documentarians, news professionals, news producers, anchors, field reporters, news crews and production teams, and, even the guy on the street, to have his/her/their work considered for notice, awards and prizes.

Since its inception in 2019, this festival has offered a number of interesting categories in which to enter a piece. Those who have written manuscripts and screenplays based on true and actual events, and those who have composed original music to accompany features, series, segments or music videos to go with them, are also eligible for coveted honors.

One of the unique advantages of submitting to TheNewsFest is that category winners will have their winning entry televised in the local Los Angeles/Hollywood market. Also, all works will be judged by a panel of some of the most noted and award-winning news professionals in the business.

The festival will take place November 7th-11th!

Photos by

Congratulations to recent alum and director of SUNCHONG, Yoontaek Hong! Yoon’s film was screened last week at the Mill Valley Film Festival! The 2024 Mill Valley Film Festival took place from October 3 to October 13, 2024, marking its 47th year as one of the premier film festivals in the U.S. Known for its inclusive, non-competitive environment, the festival showcased over 200 films from more than 50 countries. It included a diverse array of categories such as World Cinema, U.S. Cinema, Documentaries, Family Films, and Shorts.

“I had the incredible opportunity to attend the 2024 Mill Valley Film Festival as a filmmaker, where our film “Sunchong” was screened. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who supported our project and came to the screening. As this was my first film festival as a filmmaker, hearing the audience's responses gave me a lot of courage and motivation. After the screening, I decided to watch all the short film programs at the festival, viewing over 40 shorts films in 5 days. Each program had a distinct theme, and every film showcased its own unique storytelling, which helped me to understand various filmmaking styles. It was also an incredible learning experience in how film festivals operate, and I had the privilege of meeting and connecting with many talented filmmakers and programmers. Film festivals like Mill Valley truly inspire filmmakers to keep creating, and I thoroughly enjoyed engaging with the audience and the creative minds I met throughout the festival. I’m really thankful to my team and friends who have been with me throughout this journey." -Yoontaek Hong

Shout out to Prof. Annette Hayward-Carter who is attending the Austin Film Society for a screening of her film FOXFIRE (1996) followed by a post-film discussion on the history of the production and her career. FOXFIRE is screening as part of To the Front, a deep-dive into the evolution of women’s stories, on-screen and behind the camera, kicking off with a trio of films as defiant as their filmmakers. FOXFIRE will be presented in partnership with hyperreal film club, purveyors of the “coolest movie night in Austin” (Austin Statesman) and local hub for both young filmmakers and budding cinephiles alike.