CCNY - MFA Award-Winning Films Featured March 28 at 4th Annual "Cinema Cum Laude"

An evening of new short films, from The MFA in Media Arts Production at The City College of New York, will screen at The Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY at 7:15 PM on Friday, March 28th. This will be the fourth year that the Burns hosts the event, entitled “Cinema Cum Laude”. The films range in length from 1-minute to 30-minutes and span the genres of documentary and fiction. The MFA program at City College is only in its tenth year, but its students have won many coveted awards including the Student Oscar and The Student Emmy.

This year’s program includes:

• "Hush” (D. Fernando Cordero) A psychological thriller about a young woman grieving for the loss of her child while she also struggles with her abusive husband.
• " Stranger in Paradise” (D. Masood Haque) A documentary about a Pakistani man who wins a visa lottery to pursue his dreams in America, only to be ensnared in a post 9/11 nightmare.
  
• “Tijuana Nada Mas” (D. Yolanda Pividal) A documentary look at the struggle of street kids who live in the busiest border city in the world.
• “Plain Jane” (D. Darren Methlie) A day-in–the-life of a young girl in a small town in rural Connecticut. Forced to cope with an unwanted pregnancy, Jane must come to a decision amidst a family crisis that has driven her away from the father of her child.
• “Work” (D. Erin Harper) A meditation on three disparate lives – a stack trader, a street person and a jazz musician.
• “Three 1-minute Documentaries” (D. Erin Greenwell, D. Daniel Akiba, D. Bangbay Siboliban) dealing with issues of family, death and identity.
• “Two Dollar Dance” (D. Yolanda Pividal) Lonely Hispanic men, working illegally in the US and far from home, visit local bars where they pay money for the fleeting companionship of a dance.
  

Most of these films were award winners at “Cityvisions”—the MFA showcase and festival held in Manhattan each May. The filmmakers will be present for a Q&A panel following the screenings, moderated by filmmakers/professors Dave Davidson and Andrzej Krakowski. (Both Westchester residents) For ticket prices and directions to the Jacob Burns Film Center at 364 Manville Rd. in Pleasantville, NY call 914-747-5555, or visit the following links for more information on this event:

https://tickets.burnsfilmcenter.org/php/calendar.php?month=3&day=23&year=2007&sid=&cmode=0&org=2

http://www.burnsfilmcenter.org/about/directions.html