The 26th Columbia University Film Festival Runs 5/3-9

Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program and The Film Society of Lincoln Center have announced they will co-present the 26th Annual Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF), a week-long program of screenings, dramatic readings and special events in New York. The celebration will continue with events to be announced for June in Los Angeles. This marks the second year that the festival is co-presented by the Film Society.

Columbia University's School of the Arts Film Program is one of the most prestigious programs in the country and boasts a graduate list that includes Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia) and Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) and an esteemed faculty that has included Milos Forman, Martin Scorsese, Emir Kusturica and Paul Schrader.

Ira Deutchman, Chair of the Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program stated, "Each year, the Festival is an opportunity to take a step back and marvel at the amazing body of work that has been created by our students. We are very pleased that the Film Society is co-presenting the festival with us again this year. They are not only providing us a prestigious platform, but also validation of the quality of the work. It is an acknowledgement that there is no other film festival anywhere that showcases student work with such accomplishment, ambition and diversity."

"Supporting emerging filmmakers is an important focus for the Film Society," said Film Society of Lincoln Center's Executive Director Rose Kuo, "We are delighted to welcome back the Columbia University Film Festival and their talented new student filmmakers."

The Andrew Sarris Award
Adam Davidson ('91) will receive this year's Andrew Sarris Award, named for School of the Arts Film Program professor and world-renowned critic and theorist Andrew Sarris, which honors outstanding service by and artistic achievement of distinguished Film Program alumni. Davidson's directorial debut, The Lunch Date, won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at Cannes and the 1991 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. The film was also Davidson's MFA thesis film, screened at the Columbia Film Festival in his graduating year. Since then, he has directed episodes of a number of TV shows, including Six Feet Under, Lost, True Blood, The United States of Tara, Community, Friday Night Lights, and many others.

The annual Andrew Sarris Award winner is selected by current School of the Arts Film Program students. Past recipients include Malia Scotch Marmo ('88, Rafina, Madeline, Hook, Once Around), Greg Mottola ('91, Super Bad), Albert Berger ('83, Little Miss Sunshine), Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini ('95 and '94, American Splendor), Kathryn Bigelow ('81, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), Lisa Cholodenko ('97, The Kids Are All Right), Sabrina Dhawan ('02, Monsoon Wedding), Simon Kinberg ('03, Sherlock Holmes), Kimberly Peirce ('96, Boys Don't Cry), James Mangold ('99, Walk the Line), and Nicole Holofcener ('88, Please Give).
From Development to Deal: A Conversation on First Features

Rebecca Thomas (Electrick Children) and Tanya Hamilton (Night Catches Us) will be two of the featured panelists in a special Columbia University Filmmakers Panel titled "From Development to Deal: A Conversation on First Features." (Other panelists to be confirmed.) The first feature is a defining moment every filmmaker's career, and the panelists, moderated by Columbia director and Film faculty member Tom Kalin (Savage Grace, Swoon), will delve into their experience, from initial concept to production, post-production and beyond. The event, which is free to the public, will be held Monday, May 6, at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and will also be streamed live.

The Festival is the annual premiere of over 40 thesis short films and feature screenplays by MFA students in the Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program. Like Adam Davidson's film, many of the films premiered over the past 25 years have Gone on to win top awards and honors at prestigious festivals worldwide, including the recent Under, directed by Mark Raso, which won a Gold Medal in the Narrative category at the 2012 Student Academy Awards; I Am John Wayne, directed by Christina Choe, which was awarded the Grand Jury Sparky Award for Short Film at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival; The Recorder Exam, directed by Bora Kim, won the 2012 DGA Best Woman Student Filmmaker Award, and High Maintenance, written and directed by Shawn Wines, which won a Silver Medal at the 2011 Student Academy Awards.

The schedule of this year's events is as follows:

Friday, May 3 - Sunday, May 5
Film Screenings: 2013 Showcase of MFA Films
The Film Society of Lincoln Center,
Walter Reade Theater,
165 West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam.
Tickets for these screenings are $13 and go on sale Thursday, April 18. Visit www.cufilmfest.com for up-to-date information, as well as a full list of festival films, synopses, filmmaker bios, and ticket information.

Monday, May 6
Both events below are in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, 144 West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam. Complimentary tickets to both of these events may be picked up on Monday, May 6 only.

4:00pm: CUFF Creative Producing Pitch Contest
Eight students whose feature film project pitches were selected by a panel of industry professionals will compete for a one-on-one meeting with legendary producer David Picker. Jury includes Jack Lechner, Anne Carey, Amy Robinson, Michael Hausman.

7:00pm: From Development to Deal: A Conversation on First Features.
A panel of filmmakers discuss their first feature films: Rebecca Thomas (Electrick Children) and Tanya Hamilton (Night Catches Us), and others to be confirmed. Moderated by Tom Kalin (Savage Grace, Swoon).

Tuesday, May 7
7:00pm: Screenwriting Night
An evening of screenplay readings.
The Alice Griffin Jewelbox Theatre
The Pershing Square Signature Center
480 West 42nd Street

Wednesday, May 8
7:00pm: Student Selects
Screenings of the favorite films of the festival as voted by students at the Columbia University School of the Arts MFA Program.
Miller Theatre, Columbia University
2960 Broadway at 116th Street.

Tickets to Student Selects on sale Friday, April 19-for additional information and to purchase tickets, visit cufilmfest.com

Thursday, May 9
7:00pm: Awards Night
Screenings and awards ceremony of the films designated as Jury Selects of the festival. The 2013 Festival Jury is comprised of faculty of the Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program and, for The First Time this year, outside jurors from the industry, director Tamara Jenkins and producer Jay Van Hoy.

The Paris Theatre
4 West 58th Street

Tickets to Awards Night are on sale Friday, April 19-for additional information and to purchase tickets, visit cufilmfest.com

Visit www.cufilmfest.com for up-to-date information, as well as a full list of festival films, synopses, filmmaker bios, and ticket information. Audience members should arrive at least 15 minutes before showtime. Seating is not guaranteed once the screening has started.