Motion Pictures

April Dobbins, a graduate student in the motion pictures program, was recently presented with a $20,000 award from the S. J. Weiler Fund, a private foundation that honors the work of mid-career artists. The award is made in recognition of individual artistic achievement and creativity, as well as significant contributions to the arts community. The award is by nomination only, and a selection committee comprised of influential art figures chooses awardees. The 2014 selection committee included Andrea Grover, David Levi Strauss, Joshua Mack, Amy Sadao, Zoe Strauss, Julianne Swartz, Mickalene [...]

Jon Landau, described by SoC professor Dr. John Soliday as "the Edison of film technology," will be at the Cosford Cinema on Monday, Jan. 26, 1-3 p.m. The master's class will be moderated by Dr. Soliday and will include a Q&A session, film clips and advice from the producer of the two biggest film attractions in history, "Titanic" and "Avatar." This event is open to all University of Miami students.

“Storming Papa Doc,” the new documentary directed by Mario L. Delatour, is a historical reenactment that depicts the story of former Haitian army officers who, in 1958, are exiled to Florida only to return with a vengeance and a plan to overthrow Haitian president, Dr. Francois Duvalier. Animated and intercut with interviews of friends and family members of the brigade, the film explores the lives of each officer. The viewer is transported to Haiti of the 1940’s and Florida, which became a temporary incubator for the opposition. This film chronicles [...]

The Norton Herrick Center for Motion Picture Studies was selected from nearly 1,200 applicants to receive one of 47 South Florida Knights Arts Challenge grants. It will use the $15,000 award to expand the Cosford Cinema’s Cosford Classics series, which showcases films presented on 35 mm. According to center director Christina Lane, the Knight Foundation grant will enable the Herrick Center to enhance the classic series by inviting guest curators, including local film experts and internationally known scholars and filmmakers, to speak about each film, its cultural significance, and the importance of film preservation [...]

By Sherman Hewitt - What do the movies “Frozen,” “Space Jam” and nearly every other film shown at the Cosford Cinema since 1982 have in common? Michael Blaine, the Cosford’s projectionist, has been responsible for displaying every single one on the big screen. “If there was any film – any film – in this theater during that time, I was the one who projected it,” he said. “I was the only projectionist. There hasn’t been anyone else.” Blaine, 70, has spent the last 32 years projecting movies at Cosford. Throughout his [...]

Internationally renowned actress-writer-director Liv Ullmann discussed her life and career on November 23, in conjunction with a screening of the film AUTUMN SONATA. The Norwegian-born star, who has appeared in over fifty films and helmed five features, offered insight into her decades-long collaboration with the Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman as well as her experiences working with co-star Ingrid Bergman in the 1978 mother-daughter drama. She also contemplated her latest directorial venture, MISS JULIE, starring Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton, which opens in theaters December 5. The AUTUMN SONATA [...]

On campus for the premiere of their newest movie, director John Herzfeld, a UM alumnus, and veteran actor Danny Aiello treated about 50 film and theatre students to a candid master class in the School of Communication’s Studio A, where they shared tricks of their trade and juicy stories on their film careers. “My advice to first time directors is, ‘If you don’t know something, fake it,”’ Herzfeld told students Thursday afternoon, hours before Reach Me, which stars Aiello, Sylvester Stallone, and a host of other stars, premiered at the [...]

By Stephanie Freire - Sarah Moshman, an alumna of the University of Miami, is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker on a mission to spread the word about female empowerment. Her most recent film, “The Empowerment Project,” features the stories of 17 career women who not only have made it to the top in their industry but are also inspiring role models. For the documentary, Moshman and her all-women crew traveled across the country, from Los Angeles to New York, on a budget of $28,590 raised through Kickstarter.com. The team is [...]