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April 5-9, 2006
Brown University To Host 2006 Ivy Film Festival
Student filmmakers and film industry professionals will come together for the 2006 Ivy Film Festival at Brown University April 5-9, 2006. The festival will showcase 36 student films and include advance screenings of eight feature films. Michael Showalter, a 1992 Brown graduate, writer and director of The Baxter, will give the keynote address on Friday, April 7. All events are open to the public. 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. —The Ivy Film Festival, the largest student film festival on the East Coast, will be held at Brown University from Wednesday, April 5, through Sunday, April 9, 2006. In addition to showcasing the best original work of student filmmakers from around the world, the festival includes screenings of eight soon-to-be released feature films and a series of workshops and panels with award-winning directors and film industry professionals. “The Ivy Film Festival serves as a rare and invaluable forum for interaction between student filmmakers and industry professionals,” said Nick Axelrod, co-director of publicity. “Many see the festival as an opportunity for major Hollywood talent and institutions to scout the next generation of storytellers.” The festival opens Wednesday, April 5, with Iraq in Fragments, winner of three awards in the documentary category at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Director James Longley will introduce the film at 7 p.m. at the Avon Cinema and hold a question and answer session following the screening. The festival concludes Sunday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in RISD Auditorium with a screening of Half Nelson, an official selection at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, recently named one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch,” will introduce the film and take questions after the screening. Local premières of Take the Lead (New Line Cinema), Brick (Focus Features), Kinky Boots (Miramax), Water (Fox Searchlight), Occupation: Dreamland, and Black Gold are also scheduled. Michael Showalterm, a 1992 Brown graduate, will deliver the festival’s keynote address Friday, April 7, at 7 p.m. in Salomon Hall, Room 101. Showalter is the writer and director of the romantic comedy The Baxter and a founding member of MTV’s sketch comedy troupe The State. He also co-wrote and co-produced the cult film Wet Hot American Summer, which premièred at Sundance Film Festival in 2001, and performs in the sketch trio Stella on Comedy Central. Student Films Screenings of 36 student film selections are scheduled for Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8. The films are divided into documentary, drama, comedy, experimental/animation, and spectrum categories. There is a separate category for film school students. The student filmmakers hail from universities across the United States and as far away as New Zealand, London and Paris. In addition to Showalter, the student entries will be judged by Marc Francis, director of Black Gold; Mark Ross, producer with Maguire Entertainment; David Courier, senior programmer for Outfest, Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals; and Lisa Gossels, director of Children of Chabannes. The winners will be named during an awards ceremony Sunday, April 9, at 11 a.m. in Andrews Dining Hall. The festival’s award-winning films will be broadcast on the Open Student Television Network (OSTN), a global channel devoted exclusively to student-produced programming. OSTN is also sponsoring two prizes: a Canon GL2 digital camcorder for the best director and a Dell Lat D610 laptop for the best screenwriter. The Ivy Film Festival Founded in 2001 by Brown University students, The Ivy Film Festival strives to act as a quality venue for undergraduate film work and to create opportunities for student filmmakers to learn from each another and from talented professionals. The festival aims to garner recognition for student filmmakers, whose work is judged by celebrity panels that include directors, producers, writers and agents. Tickets The 2006 Ivy Film Festival’s student exhibitions are free and open to the public. Tickets to feature films are $1 for students and $5 for general public. They should be reserved in advance at www.ivyfilmfestival.com/tickets.php or at the Brown University Post Office from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, April 3, to Wednesday, April 5. For a full schedule of events and venue information, visit www.IvyFilmFestival.com. ###### Media Relations Home | Top of File | e-Subscribe | Brown Home Page | ||||