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<p style="font-weight: 400;">The stories are as diverse as their filmmakers: An ex-gang member struggling to help his mother return home. A son fulfilling his father鈥檚 baseball dream. A father struggling to provide for his son. Two lonely people battling solitary confinement. An effort to negotiate peace in the middle of a war.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The public is invited to explore these cinematic stories and preview the talents of the next generation of filmmakers on. Wednesday, May 3, at California State University, Northridge鈥檚 31<sup>st</sup> Senior Film Showcase (2021 redux) at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.</p>
<div id="attachment_52292" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img class="size-medium wp-image-52292" src="; alt="A scene from the student film "This Is Their Land," directed by Michael O'Leary." width="300" height="169" srcset=" 300w, 768w, 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A scene from the student film “This Is Their Land,” directed by Michael O’Leary.</p></div>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The showcase, which concludes years of study for the university鈥檚 senior-level film students, is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. in the academy鈥檚 Samuel Goldwyn Theater, located at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href=" and television arts</a> professor Nate Thomas, who head鈥檚 快活林性息鈥檚 film option, said the films in the showcase represent the best of the film program.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">鈥淭he work by the students makes us proud and underscores their professional and creative talents,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淥ur students come from mostly working-class backgrounds and have diverse stories to tell. As their films demonstrate, they have the skills to tell those stories effectively. As members of the entertainment industry, they will add new voices and perspectives to those who already entertain and sometimes provoke us with their filmmaking.鈥�</p>
<div id="attachment_52293" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img class="size-medium wp-image-52293" src="; alt="Scene from the student film "Kites," directed by Liezel Bites." width="300" height="169" srcset=" 300w, 768w, 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Scene from the student film “Kites,” directed by Liezl Bitas.</p></div>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The showcase鈥檚 host will be internationally acclaimed director Randal Kleiser, whose first film was 鈥淕rease鈥� starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. In addition, Kleiser directed 鈥淭he Blue Lagoon,鈥� starring Brooke Shields; 鈥淪ummer Lovers,鈥� starring Peter Gallagher and Daryl Hannah; Disney鈥檚 鈥淔light of the Navigator鈥� and 鈥淕randville, USA,鈥� starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Jason Leigh. His other films include Disney鈥檚 鈥淲hite Fang,鈥� starring Ethan Hawke, and 鈥淗oney, I Blew Up the Kid,鈥� starring Rick Moranis and Lloyd Bridges. A retrospective of Kleiser鈥檚 work will be shown at the showcase.</p>
<div id="attachment_52294" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img class="size-medium wp-image-52294" src="; alt="Scene from 鈥⑩�淯n D铆a M谩s, Un D铆a Menos,鈥� directed by Audrey Saca." width="300" height="200" srcset=" 300w, 768w, 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Scene from 鈥� 鈥淯n D铆a M谩s, Un D铆a Menos,鈥� directed by Audrey Saca.</p></div>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The following student films will make their premiere at the showcase:</p>
<ul>
<li>鈥淓l Halc贸n鈥�, directed by Arlene Torres, is set in the bustling streets of Boyle Heights and follows the story of Fernando De La Cruz, an ex-gang member and aspiring tattoo artist as he tries to turn his life around and help his immigrant mother return to the United States.</li>
<li>鈥淩uby鈥檚 Dad,鈥� directed by David Tschan, is the story of Stanley, who, when he learns the whereabouts of his late father鈥檚 favorite baseball player, tries to sneak into a upscale hotel with his daughter, Ruby, to get an autograph.</li>
<li>
<div id="attachment_52297" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img class="size-medium wp-image-52297" src="; alt="Scene from 鈥淩uby鈥檚 Dad,鈥� directed by David Tschan." width="300" height="188" srcset=" 300w, 768w, 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Scene from 鈥淩uby鈥檚 Dad,鈥� directed by David Tschan.</p></div>
<p>鈥淯n D铆a M谩s, Un D铆a Menos,鈥� directed by Audrey Saca, follows a father who must leave his son, Leo, with relatives while he looks for work. As the years go by with Leo exploited as a ranch hand, secrets are revealed.</li>
<li>鈥淜ites,鈥� directed by Liezl Bitas, is the story of a young Filipina inmates lonely time in solitary confinement takes a turn when she gets an impossible message from a Black man in the same situation half a world away.</li>
<li>In 鈥淭his Is Their Land,鈥� directed by Michael O鈥橪eary, the leader of the Modoc is trapped between the U.S. Army and warring factions in his own tribe as he maneuvers tense peace negotiations to save his people.</li>
</ul>
<div id="attachment_52298" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img class="size-medium wp-image-52298" src="; alt="On the set of 鈥淓l Halc贸n鈥�, directed by Arlene Torres." width="300" height="200" srcset=" 300w, 768w, 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">On the set of 鈥淓l Halc贸n鈥�, directed by Arlene Torres.</p></div>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Thomas said some of the films selected to premier in the showcase were completed during the pandemic.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">鈥淲e wanted to make sure that, despite the pandemic, the students still had an opportunity to show their films on a big screen before an audience that includes industry leaders,鈥� he said.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">He noted that the filmmakers featured at the showcase are all Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) Fellows.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">For more information about the showcase, call 快活林性息鈥檚 Department of Cinema and Television Arts at (818) 677-3192.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">快活林性息鈥檚聽<a href=" of Cinema and Television Arts</a>, housing in the聽<a href=" Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication</a>,聽has an international reputation for producing dedicated and talented entertainment industry professionals who recognize the value of hard work as they learn and continue to perfect their craft. The department currently enrolls nearly 1,700 undergraduate students and 30 students in its graduate screenwriting program. Its alumni work in all aspects of entertainment media, from writing, producing and directing to manning cameras and having the final say in what project is made. The Hollywood Reporter and Variety have regularly ranked 快活林性息 among the top universities in the country for cinema and television arts education.</p>
The stories are as diverse as their filmmakers: An ex-gang member struggling to help his mother return home. A son...