Kodak Presents Students, Faculty with Annual Awards

[Tim Tyler]

Scott Calvert of Temple University won the

2007 Eastman Scholarship Gold Award for Excellence in the Craft of Filmmaking

by a film school student. Ruben Grijalva of San Francisco State University and

Benjamin Kalina from Temple University were presented Silver and Bronze

Awards, respectively. Honorable mentions went to Kai Orion and Sally Kewayosh,

both of New York University.

 

Carolyn Macartney of Southern Methodist University won the 2007 Kodak

Faculty Scholarship, and Yash Bhatt of Chapman University?s Dodge College of

Film and Media Arts received the Kodak Award for Excellence in Cinematography.

 

The recipients of the 2007 scholarships and awards were revealed during the

annual University Film & Video Association (UFVA) Conference hosted by the

University of North Texas last week. Kodak is a major sponsor of the

conference.

 

?These scholarships and awards are designed to provide tangible support

for the next generation of filmmakers and their mentors,? says Wendy Elms,

worldwide education segment manager for the Kodak Entertainment Imaging

Division. ?It is one of many of our educational initiatives.?

 

The Eastman and Kodak Faculty Scholarship programs are funded by an

endowment established by Kodak and administered by the University Film and

Video Foundation (UFVF), a non-profit organization.

 

The student competition drew submissions from some 35 schools throughout

the United States and Canada. A maximum of two nominations are allowed from

each accredited film school. Judging was based on a combination of sample

reels submitted by the students, recommendations from faculty, and academic

achievement. The jurists were five-time cinematography Oscar nominee William

A. Fraker, ASC, BSC (Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Heaven Can Wait, Murphy?s

Romance, WarGames, 1941); Bart Weis, president of the Video Association of

Dallas and artistic director of the Dallas Video Festival; and Randy Tack, a

Kodak cinematographer.

 

?We judged how effectively the films submitted by students supported the

story-telling intentions of the directors,? says Fraker, whose other notable

credits include Rosemary?s Baby and Bullitt. ?The many wonderful entries that

we saw bode well for the future. There is a new generation of talented

cinematographers who are ready to make an impact.?

 

Calvert, who is working toward a master?s degree, won both a $5,000

scholarship applicable toward tuition and a $5,000 Kodak product grant.

Calvert took on the roles of writer, director, art director and sound designer

for his film Derailed. The film is the story of a young, married model train

collector who must give up his workshop to construct a nursery for his soon-

to-be first-born child. The film was produced in Super 16 format on KODAK

VISION2 500T 7218 and 250D 7205 color negative films. His crew consisted of

Temple University graduates and undergraduates.

 

A $4,000 scholarship and a $4,000 Kodak product grant were presented to

Grijalva. He received his bachelor?s degree in May 2007. Grijalva was the

writer, producer, director, and editor for his film Shadow Ball. The film

follows an imaginative child who learns that a game of catch can transcend

social boundaries. Grijalva used KODAK VISION2 stocks in the Super 16 format.

 

Kalina is working towards a master?s degree, and received a $3,000 tuition

scholarship and a $3,000 Kodak product grant for Diorama. Kalina directed,

produced, co-wrote, co-edited and supervised postproduction of his film.

Diorama is about a 10-year-old girl who wants to go on her science class field

trip, but her mom, a fledgling musician, can?t come up with the $10 fee.

 

Kewayosh and Orion each received $2,000 Kodak product grants.

 

Because she demonstrated a capacity to enhance skill development in film

production and classroom education, Macartney was awarded $4,000 to support

her proposed documentary project Wanda the Wonderful. Macartney has been a

full-time faculty member at the Southern Methodist University Division of

Cinema-Television since fall of 2003. As a director and cinematographer, she

has worked on four feature-length narrative films, some 20 short films, and

numerous documentaries and music videos. She will use the grant to produce

Wanda the Wonderful, which will chronicle the wild and passionate life of

Macartney?s grandmother, who was a Wild West sharpshooter.

 

Bhatt, who is earning his master?s degree, was awarded a $1,000 Kodak

product grant. He was the director of photography on The Vaudevillian, a short

dramatic film about a ventriloquist?s relationship with his dummy that becomes

strained after they lose their jobs in a traveling vaudeville troupe. This

award also qualifies Bhatt?s film as the U.S./Canada finalist for the

worldwide Kodak Filmschool Competition, along with the Latin America and Asia

Pacific finalists, who are yet to be determined. The grand prize is a trip to

the 2008 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, where the winning film will be

screened and the filmmaker will be given the opportunity to participate in

seminars and other activities hosted by Kodak.

 

Kodak inaugurated the scholarship program in 1991 for undergraduate and

graduate students at universities offering degrees in film in the United

States and Canada. More than 100 students have received scholarships. In 2001,

a faculty scholarship was added to enhance the professional growth of teachers

on projects involving students. A total of $450,000 worth of scholarships has

been granted since the inception of the program. The Kodak Filmschool

Competition was initiated in 2000.

 

Kodak?s educational programs include a range of opportunities that students

and educators can utilize to enrich their knowledge of the art and craft of

filmmaking, including educational materials, workshops and discounts. Kodak

also sponsors student film festivals, awards, seminars and showcases that

raise the profile and awareness of emerging talent.