Newsroom – California State University, Northridge

Hollywood Foreign Press Awards CSUN $50,000 for Senior Film Projects

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Aug. 8th, 2011) ―

Golden Globe- and Academy Award-nominee Mark Wahlberg did the honors last week when he announced the awarding of $50,000 to Cal State Northridge’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at a star-studded luncheon in Beverly Hills.

The grant was presented during the association’s annual installation luncheon honoring its 2011-2012 slate of officers held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Aug. 4. Among the celebrities in attendance were Leonardo DiCaprio, Gerard Butler, Hugh Dancy, Jessica Chastain, Kevin Bacon, Lea Michele, Tyler Lautner, Elizabeth Olsen, Yoshiki and Jim Sturgess.

The grant will support senior film projects during the 2011-2012 academic year. The director of each senior film project also will have the distinction of being a Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) Fellow.

“For the past 16 years, HFPA grants and scholarships to CSUN’s film production curriculum and students have literally made the difference between mere artistic aspiration and the actual fulfillment of dreams,” said cinema and television arts professor Nate Thomas, head of the university’s film option.

Thomas said recent HFPA Fellows and supported films have won a Student Emmy, been regional finalists in the Student Academy Awards, won a prestigious Heritage Award from the American Society of Cinematographers and received honors at the Cannes Film Festival.

“The HFPA grants have an even deeper significance in these trying economic times,” Thomas added, noting that CSUN students are responsible for raising the money to make their films. “The HFPA money, and the prestige associated with the fellowships, can mean the difference between a good film and a great one.”

The senior film projects are showcased each spring at a special screening at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood, where entertainment industry executives and members of the community get an opportunity to view the best of Northridge’s program.

The association awarded more than $1.5 million to film schools and non-profit organizations at the Aug. 4 event. In addition to Northridge, other institutions receiving grants included the American Film Institute, California Institute for the Arts, UCLA, Sundance Institute and Tribeca Film Festival.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is comprised of international journalists who report on the entertainment industry. It hosts the Golden Globes each year, and has awarded more than $11 million in charitable donations in the past 17 years.

CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts’ relationship goes back 16 years. In addition to the association’s support of senior film projects and the university’s annual film showcase, CSUN students also edit in the Hollywood Press Association Senior Film Edit Suite and work on sound design in a state-of-the-art sound mix facility made possible by a grant from the association.

The department has an international reputation for producing dedicated and talented industry professionals who recognize the value of hard work as they learn and continue to perfect their crafts. The department’s alumni work in all aspects of the industry, from writing, producing and directing to manning cameras and having the final say in what project is made.

 

 

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