Motion Pictures

Ninth Annual PhilADthropy is Launching to Help Local Nonprofits

Eleven leading non-profit organizations from South Florida were chosen to participate in the Ninth Annual PhilADthropy at the University of Miami School of Communication, where students create vibrant campaigns and other advertising materials in one 25-hour, coffee-fueled marathon for some of the most deserving local non-profits. Meryl Blau, lecturer in the Department of Strategic Communication at the School of Communication and the founder of PhilADthropy, says one campaign from last year’s event that really stood out was focused on Shake-A-Leg Miami (SALM). SALM works to improve the health, education, and [...]

Full House for Producers from ‘The Florida Project’

There wasn’t a single empty seat in Shoma Hall on Feb. 5 as students, professors, and even a couple of dogs gathered to hear from Kevin Chinoy and Francesca Silvestri, the award-winning producers of Tangerine, Starlet, and, their most recent film, The Florida Project. Margaret Cardillo, lecturer in the Department of Cinema and Interactive Media, led the question and answer session. They discussed everything from the day-to-day process of making a film, to challenges they have faced, to what they look for in projects that they produce. “For me, it’s [...]

Documentary Nominated in Several Categories at International Film Festival

The 2018 London International Filmmakers Festival recognized a feature documentary co-produced and edited by Konstantia Kontaxis, associate professor for the Department of Cinema and Interactive Media, with nominations in several categories. Last Song to Xenitia is nominated for Best Film, Best Editing of a Feature Documentary, and Best Cinematography in a Feature Documentary. “We made this film thinking that it would appeal primarily to Greek or Greek-American audiences. It is wonderful to see that it resonates with an international audience,” said Kontaxis. The documentary centers around Vasiliki, a centenarian poet [...]

2019-12-17T19:24:15-05:00January 12, 2018|Motion Pictures|

Flaming Classics Wins Knight Arts Challenge

Flaming Classics, a “curated film series that pairs classic films from the queer canon” and local drag artist performances, was announced as a winner of the Knight Arts Challenge on Dec. 4.  The Knight Arts Challenge gives funds to the best ideas for engaging and enriching communities through the arts. This year, the Knight Foundation offered the competition to four cities: Akron, Ohio; Miami; Detroit, and St. Paul, Minn. The Knight Foundation gave away a total of $7.8 million across the four cities. To qualify for the funds, the idea [...]

Visiting Knight Chair for Spring 2018 to Teach Course on Collaborative Documentary: Environment

Communication plays a significant role in the framing of environmental problems as well as in the articulation of solutions. What kinds of strategies and platforms are artists and documentary makers using to communicate thorny environmental concerns that are often out of sight and out of mind? What kinds of stories, visualizations and outreach initiatives encourage viewers to get involved? Spring 2018 Visiting Knight Chair, Elizabeth "Liz" Miller, will offer a unique course this spring that will give students the opportunity to answer these questions by exploring a range of short, [...]

Mary Cosford Honors Late Son with Bequest to Benefit UM Students

By Karina Valdes Bill Cosford was just a few credits away from earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami when he accepted a job at The Miami Herald in 1973. Having started as a copy editor, Bill grew to become a respected film critic for the newspaper, as well as a motion pictures professor at UM. At the age of 47, he passed away. Mary Cosford, Bill’s mother, sought a way for her son’s legacy to continue. She made a gift in memory of her late son to [...]

2023-10-26T13:30:16-04:00November 21, 2017|Motion Pictures|

Fall 4C Pilot Grants Awarded

A total of eight faculty members spread across six departments were awarded 4C Pilot Grants by the University of Miami School of Communication Center for Communication, Culture, and Change. These grants are awarded three times per year to fund interdisciplinary projects that align with the mission of the center and are designed to provide data to compete for external funding from private, foundation, and government sources. Margaret Cardillo, lecturer in the Department of Cinema and Interactive Media, along with Caleb Everett, professor in the College of Arts & Sciences and chair [...]

Infusing New Blood into a Shakespearean Classic

When Ed Talavera, associate professor in the Cinema and Interactive Media Department, approached his former student Ronnie Khalil about directing a feature film for the School of Communication’s Film in Greece summer study abroad program, neither of them had any intention of making an LGBT interracial vampire romance. Yet several unexpected turns shaped With a Kiss I Die into exactly that. UM alumna and assistant professor of screenwriting Barbara Leibell teamed up with alumnus James Orie to write a comedy about an immortal Juliet Capulet never dying, as she did in the original Shakespearean [...]

Research Grant Recipients Announced

A total of five faculty members spread across three departments were recently announced as the 2017 – 2018 recipients of the Creative Activity and Research Grants. The funding supports work that will result in clear and prominent scholarly and/or creative accomplishments that support the enhanced reputation of the School of Communication. Wan-Hsiu “Sunny” Tsai, William Hughes, and Juliana Fernandes from the Department of Strategic Communication, Victoria Oreggo Dunleavy from the Department of Communication Studies, and Michelle Seelig from the Department of Cinema and Interactive Media were selected by an interdisciplinary [...]

Motion Pictures Program Named One of the Top 50 in the Country

The University of Miami was named one of the top 50 film schools in the country by TheWrap Magazine. Jumping from number 38 in 2016 to number 27 in 2017, the motion pictures program was recognized for its immersive curriculum, experienced professors and successful alumni from the program and the University, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Sylvester Stallone, Barry Waldman and David Nutter, Emmy-winning Game of Thrones director. TheWrap Magazine’s second annual ranking was revealed in September. The magazine selects the top 50 programs based on alumni involvement, alumni professional success, [...]