Yale In Hollywood Film Festival Sets Dates For 2020 Edition

Yale in Hollywood will present its inaugural global virtual film festival, Yale in Hollywood Fest, from December 3 to 5, 2020, with a three day line up of features and short films and an esteemed alumnae jury consisting of actress Sara Gilbert, producer Chris Lee, filmmaker Melissa Haizlip and manager Ran Aubrey Frazier.

This year, all of Yale in Hollywood Fest screenings and events are free to the public and the world to stream. On Thursday December 3, YIH Fest will open with Delilah Napier and Lucy Powers' satiric feature Voyeur, produced and directed by the thespian pair while they were students at Yale University for their joint senior thesis project in Theatre Studies. Voyeur just picked up Best US Feature Film Award and Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2020 SoHo International Film Festival. Live Q&A with Delilah and Lucy at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET.

On Friday December 4, YIH Fest will screen two programs of short films including Bridget Moloney's Sundance entry "Blocks" and the world premiere of YIH Fest programmer Melissa Johnson's "Yearning for Santorini." Q&A with short filmmakers at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET.

On Saturday December 5, YIH Fest will close with Yale alum director Sam Zalutsky's Seaside, a female-driven revenge thriller set amidst the visually dramatic scenery of the Oregon Coast. Live Q&A with Sam at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET followed by the jurors announcing festival awards.

Yale in Hollywood Fest showcases features and short films that include at least one Yale student, alumnus or current staff in the starring, producing, writing or directing chair. All events, including screenings and live streams, will be available directly from Yale in Hollywood Fest's official website: http://www.yihfest.com

The alumnae jury of 2020 Yale in Hollywood Fest is headed by Chris Lee, veteran producer and Founder and Director of the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media (ACM). Chris is the former President of Production at Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, the first Asian American to run production at a Hollywood studio. Chris holds a BA in Political Science from Yale.

Sara Gilbert is an American actress, director, and producer known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Sara graduated from Yale University majoring in art.

Ran Aubrey Frazier is a manager at Authentic Talent and Literary Management. An acting student in performing arts schools outside Baltimore, Ran graduated magna cum laude from Yale in Film and Theater Studies, before matriculating at Harvard Law School, where he was the Coordinating Editor, Outreach Editor, and Diversity Chair of the Harvard Law Review.

Melissa Haizlip is an award-winning filmmaker who went to Yale and is now based in New York. Her work responds to pressing social issues at the intersection of racial justice, social justice, activism, and representation. Melissa's feature documentary, Mr. SOUL!, won the Critics Choice Documentary Award 2020, and was a finalist for the 2019 inaugural Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, a new, annual prize that recognizes a filmmaker whose documentary uses original research and compelling narrative to tell stories that touch on some aspect of American history.

Founded and headed by Kevin Winston, Yale in Hollywood is a volunteer run organization based in Los Angeles that connect Yale students and alumni to the entertainment industry. Yale in Hollywood's Social Chair Quentin Lee is the festival director for Yale in Hollywood Fest 2020. Hannah Ruth Earl and Melissa Johnson are short films and features programmers respectively.

All events of Yale in Hollywood Fest 2020 are available free to the world via its official website: http://www.yihfest.com