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The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s 23rd Annual Film Festival is taking center stage with a week of screenings, panels and awards presentations at the James Bridges Theater. Closing night takes place at the Directors Guild of America Theater.

The curtain rises on the festivities Thurs., June 5 when filmmaker and UCLA TFT alum Ana Lily Amirpour, ’09, will be honored with the Distinguished Alumna Award during opening night. Amirpour’s current film, “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was the opening night selection for New Directors/New Films Festival, a co-presentation of The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

During the Screenwriters Showcase, on Fri., June 6, portions of 11 UCLA TFT student scripts, selected by a committee of more than 200 industry professionals, will be previewed in five-minute staged excerpts.

That same evening, Academy Award winner Callie Khouri will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Screenwriting Award. Khouri is the creator, and a writer, director and executive producer of ABC’s “Nashville,” starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panetierre. Khouri’s screenwriting debut, 1991’s “Thelma and Louise,” was nominated for six Academy Awards. Her other credits include 1995’s “Something to Talk About” and 2002’s “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” which Khouri adapted for the screen and directed.

On Sat., June 7, award-winning animator Andreas Deja will be honored with the Crystal Anvil Award during Animation Prom. Deja has animated many of Walt Disney’s notable characters including Tigger in “Winnie the Pooh,” Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast,” Jafar in “Aladdin,” Scar in “The Lion King,” Roger Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” King Triton in “The Little Mermaid,” Lilo in “Lilo & Stitch,” Queen Narissa in “Enchanted,” Mama Odie in “The Princess and the Frog,” and the title character in “Hercules.” In addition, Deja is the resident specialist for the animation of Mickey Mouse.

The Producers Marketplace, on Mon., June 9, will feature four graduate students from the Producers Program who present their projects in five-minute concept pitches to entertainment industry judges. This year, those judges include Nancy Utley, president of Fox Searchlight, literary agent Rich Green and film/television producer Scott Aversano.

Also during Producers Marketplace, Academy Award- and Primetime Emmy Award-winning producer Mark Johnson will be given the TFT-PGA Vision Award. Johnson, who was the executive producer of AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” is the executive producer of the show’s spinoff, “Better Call Saul,” which premieres in November 2014. Additionally, he’s an executive producer on the AMC summer series “Halt and Catch Fire” and CBS’ upcoming fall drama “Battle Creek.” Earlier in his career, Johnson produced the Barry Levinson films “Rain Man,” “Good Morning Vietnam,” “The Natural,” “Tin Men,” “Avalon,” “Diner” and “Bugsy.” Other film credits include “The Chronicles of Narnia” franchise, David Chase’s “Not Fade Away,” Nick Cassavetes’ dramas “My Sister’s Keeper” and “The Notebook.”

On closing night, Weds., June 11, the Directors Spotlight at the Directors Guild of America Theater will showcase 10 films that have been chosen by TFT students and a Blue Ribbon Jury of industry professionals to receive a coveted Spotlight Award.

Writer-director Spike Jonze, who won the best original screenplay Academy Award earlier this year for his most recent film, “Her,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde and Scarlett Johansson as the voice of ‘Samantha,’ will collect the Filmmaker of the Year Award. Past directing film credits include “Being John Malkovich,” which received three Academy Award nominations, as well as the critically acclaimed comedy-drama “Adaptation” starring Nicholas Cage and Meryl Streep. His first screenplay credit is the film adaptation of “Where the Wild Things Are,” which he co-wrote with author Dave Eggers and also directed. Destin Cretton will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Directing Award. Cretton’s feature film debut, “I Am Not a Hipster,” premiered to critical acclaim at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Last year, his film “Short Term 12,” based on the short of the same name, premiered at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards.

The 23rd Annual Film Festival is presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The Hollywood Reporter is a media sponsor this year.

23rd Annual Film Festival at a Glance

Thursday, June 5
Opening Night
8:00 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Honoree: Ana Lily Amirpour

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Film Festival kicks off with Opening Night, a highly anticipated event featuring selected student films, both graduate and undergraduate, animation and live-action. Each film has been screened and voted on by a panel of student peers. The resulting lineup represents some of the most original and thought provoking work the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television has to offer.

Friday, June 6
Digital Media/Interactive Animation Installation
4:00 p.m.
Soundstage 1, Melnitz Hall, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

The Non-Fiction/Digital Media and Interactive Animation program features exciting new narrative and visual explorations by UCLA TFT filmmakers and animators, both graduate and undergraduate. The projects explore the intersection of story, performance and technology in innovative, genre-defying ways. Students in these new areas worked across boundaries in the collaborative, multi-disciplinary context offered by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, offering a glimpse of the future to come.

Screenwriters Showcase
7:30 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Honoree: Callie Khouri

The competition for graduate screenwriting candidates celebrates entertainment's newest crop of screenwriting talent. Elevent student finalists — whose scripts were selected by a committee of more than 200 industry professionals — will present five-minute staged excerpts of their works.

Saturday, June 7
Design Showcase West
10:00 a.m. (invitation only), 2:00 p.m. (public review)
Freud Playhouse Stage, UCLA School of Theater Film and Television.

The prestigious Design Showcase West, created and hosted by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Department of Theater, is the only national entertainment design showcase on the West Coast. The event features student work from the nation’s top university design programs, including costume, lighting, scenic and sound design for entertainment producers, directors and a-list designers to identify the top talent graduating this year.

CMS Presentation
2:00 p.m.
2534 Melnitz Hall, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

A selection of graduate student work from Cinema and Media Studies will be presented and will include excerpts from the dissertations and recently published books of UCLA TFT doctoral students.

Animation Prom
7:00 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Honoree: Andreas Deja

The Festival of Animation, affectionately known as “Prom,” has been a tradition since 1959. The UCLA TFT Animation Workshop promotes a "one person, one film" philosophy, allowing the animators to realize their concepts independently. The works screened at Prom represent a diverse swath of animation mediums, styles, techniques, and ultimately, the lives and backgrounds of students in the program.

Sunday, June 8
New Works Screenings #1
1:00 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

New Works Screenings #2
3:00 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

New Works Screenings #3
7:00 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

The New Works Program features short films from UCLA TFT filmmakers and animators, both graduate and undergraduate. The films screened at this event embody the bold, original storytelling tradition that the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television has fostered for decades.

Monday, June 9
Producers Marketplace
7:30 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Honoree: Mark Johnson

Four graduate students from the distinguished TFT Producers Program will go before a live audience to present their feature film projects to a panel of top-tier industry judges, then field questions from the judges about their projects and financing strategy.

Wednesday, June 11
Directors Spotlight
7:30 p.m.
Directors Guild of America Theater
Honorees: Spike Jonze and Destin Cretton

This event showcases 10 films chosen to receive a coveted Spotlight Award. The films, which have emerged through several rounds of judging by TFT students, as well as a blue ribbon jury of industry professionals, are among the most exciting works the festival has to offer.

Posted: June 4, 2014