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Motion Pictures

Alumnus Sketched and Fulfilled His Dream Job

By Brandi Troup From Florida and the University of Miami to California, Dustin Romero brought his artistic talents, ambitions, and dreams with him. And now he is a character layout artist for “The Simpsons.” A proud alumnus of the University of Miami, Dustin Romero is a character layout artist for the longstanding show “The Simpsons.” Though his path to California hasn’t been linear, working in the realm of art was Romero’s fate. “I would draw all the time,” he said. “My mother used to joke that I was born with [...]

2023-08-25T12:17:38-04:00August 25, 2023|Motion Pictures|
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Crafting Films to ‘Unjudge,’ Celebrate Humanity

By Michael R. Malone Student filmmakers in the School of Communication “Human Book” project have generated short films, all entries in the Canes Film Festival, that challenge stereotypes, celebrate resiliency, and bring the best of humanity into sharp focus. Charged with using their cameras to tell the stories of extraordinary individuals, student filmmakers in the M.F.A. Documentary program have crafted short narrative films that explore a spectrum of inspiring personalities—a Ukrainian ballet dancer, a reformed felon in Coconut Grove, and entrepreneurial sisters who share their love for dance. The films [...]

2023-05-01T12:44:39-04:00May 1, 2023|Motion Pictures|
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Film Professor Shares Top Film Picks for Ramadan

By Abbie Bernet Sana Haq, assistant professor in the Department of Cinematic Arts, shares her top suggestions for films to watch this Ramadan that celebrate Muslim stories and experiences. Last week, we entered the holy month of Ramadan, and I have a few films to recommend. In case you're interested in getting to know more about Muslim life and experience in the U.S. and abroad. The Battle of Algiers (1966) "The Battle of Algiers" (1966), Igor Film and Casbah Film I'm going to kick off the list with [...]

2023-03-29T12:01:30-04:00March 29, 2023|Motion Pictures|
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Motion Pictures Student Shares Experiences from SBIFF

By Jules Crosby Thirty undergraduate students from across the country recently spent an extended weekend in California participating in this year’s highly selective Santa Barbara International Film Festival Film Studies Program. Jules Crosby, a motion pictures major in the screenwriting track, was chosen for this experience where he was granted access to the festival’s screenings, panels, seminars, and other experiential events that provided learning and networking opportunities outside of the classroom. The University of Miami School of Communication provided funding in support of Crosby’s representation of the school in the [...]

2023-03-08T17:18:52-05:00March 8, 2023|Motion Pictures|
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The 40th Annual Miami Film Festival Glitters with Support from the School of Communication

By Karina Valdes The 40th annual Miami Film Festival (MFF) is rolling out the red carpet from March 3-12, showcasing films created by a diverse set of filmmakers from across the world. The festival unites Miami’s local filmmakers and cinema-loving residents with world-wide industry professionals and films from a variety of genres in theaters and events throughout the city. The University of Miami School of Communication is set to host screenings and is sponsoring the University of Miami Documentary Achievement Award. Professor Tom Musca’s latest film, “Dying to Direct,” is [...]

2023-02-23T15:38:17-05:00February 23, 2023|Motion Pictures|
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Inaugural Shorts Miami International Film Festival Coming to the Bill Cosford Cinema

The internationally recognized University of Miami School of Communication announces its inaugural Shorts Miami International Film Festival, to be held Feb. 3-5 at the Bill Cosford Cinema in Coral Gables. The festival seeks to showcase emerging and established filmmakers in a competition that aims to promote excellence in short form narrative and documentary filmmaking. Monetary awards of $500 will be given to the best jury-selected U.S. or international short film (20 minutes or less) in each of the following competitions: Narrative and Documentary. A $500 Best of the Festival cash-award [...]

2023-02-07T12:09:48-05:00January 23, 2023|Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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Students Focus Their Cameras on New Artists at the U

By Janette Neuwahl Tannen Film students in Professor Ed Talavera’s class learn key skills in cinematography, while helping to create music videos at no cost for emerging artists. Before this fall, junior Grecia Dianel Rivera had never performed her own songs for a video audience. Yet, early in October, a class of 15 film students surrounded the young Puerto Rican vocalist as she lip-synced along to one of her own songs, “Cuanto es dos mas dos,” or “How much is two plus two?” in a studio at the University of Miami School [...]

2022-12-12T11:08:38-05:00December 12, 2022|Motion Pictures|
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Cinematic Arts Professor Helms Creative Development of 360 VR Project

By Karina Valdes After great success with their last virtual reality (VR) project, the Ohio Department of Medicaid commissioned a new original 360 VR series, Medicaid Care Experience Simulation (MCarES). The series addresses health equity and cultural humility for the LGBTQ+ community, elder abuse in older adults with disabilities, and maternal infant health and intimate partner violence. Rafal Sokolowski, a recently hired assistant professor in the Department of Cinematic Arts, took the helm in creating and developing the series, working as the show runner to conceive the stories and produce scripts for [...]

2022-11-02T10:38:05-04:00November 2, 2022|Motion Pictures|
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Film Professor Shares Top 5 Film Picks for a Spooky Weekend

By Christina Lane Christina Lane, professor in the Department of Cinematic Arts and associate dean of graduate studies for the School of Communication, shares her top suggestions for films to watch this Halloween. I love spooky films all year round, and especially during Halloween season. Here are my top 5 in no particular order: Halloween (1978) The 1978 “Halloween” is fantastic, beginning with its opening orange title credits and the iconic jack-o-lantern. I know that “Halloween Ends,” released this month, is receiving a lot of buzz, but it's hard to beat [...]

2022-10-31T12:01:19-04:00October 31, 2022|Motion Pictures|
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‘E.T.’s Touch Leaves an Indelible Mark on its Audience

By Rene Rodriguez Rene Rodriguez, manager of the Bill Cosford Cinema and former film critic for the Miami Herald, shares his memories of the acclaimed film as it marks its 40th anniversary. Some movies change your life—literally. The first time I sat down to watch “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” when it opened in theaters in June of 1982 (the best movie summer ever), I was 15 years old. I was excited by the Steven Spielberg factor, who was already one of my favorite directors, and curious about the early reviews, which [...]

2022-08-16T16:41:51-04:00August 16, 2022|Motion Pictures|
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