PRESS . . . |
| . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| January 17, 2005 |
| National Student Film Awards presented by A3 at Student Television Network convention |
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SAN DIEGO—Recognizing outstanding achievement in media production by middle and high school students across the country,
the American Academy of Arts (A3), in association with the Student Television Network, will present the first National
Student Film Awards at the second annual STN Affiliates Convention in Los Angeles this month. The awards signal a long-term
effort by A3 to bring to prominence professional-quality efforts by student filmmakers.
As with last year's event A3 is sponsoring the Hollywood motion picture industry track of presenters conducting sessions at the convention, which
has more than doubled its enrollment in its sophomore bow to nearly 1200 students. Industry professionals on the
A3 track include:
STEVEN BONICA, Chairman of the Board of The American Academy of Arts, is a two-time winner of the NPPA Editors Award and
two-time Emmy award winner with NBC News. Former vice president of Advanced Technology Research and Development for NBC,
he was responsible for the implementation of high-definition studio and recording technology. Also the former president
and COO of Panasonic Broadcast and Television Systems, Steven has played a key role in five international Olympic broadcasts.
CHARLES CHIODO, artist, illustrator and designer, is co-chairman and head of
production design for The Chiodo Bros., the special effects house behind,
among other things, the puppets in Team America: World Police. From storyboarding to final
finishing, his job is to create, develop and oversee the art direction of
all projects. Charles is a graduate of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and
was a senior graphic artist for ABC News in New York as well as a freelance
illustrator before starting his own business. His credits include Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie,
Beastmaster: The Eye of Braxus, Screamers and Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
STEPHEN CHIODO is co-chairman and head of creative production for The Chiodo
Bros., the special effects house behind, among other things, the puppets in
Team America: World Police. Stephen began his career by winning Best Young Director Award
at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976 while still a film student at Rochester
Institute of Technology in New York. Since then he has worked with such
noted directors as Tim Burton, Francis Ford Coppola, John Landis, Joe Dante and Sam Raimi as an effects artist or
animator with credits including Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie,
Beastmaster: The Eye of Braxus, Screamers, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and, as director himself,
the cult film classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
AMY ELDSON is the producer and presenter behind the Emmy nominated feature, Dying to tell the Story, which also won
both Director's Guild of America and Independent Spirit nominations
and was selected "best documentary on television" by the National Headliners Association. She co-produced and co-hosted
Global Trek: In Search of New Lebanon, a travel program for CNN International, and co-produced Children of Peace:
A Children's Crusade, a one-hour documentary. In 2003 Amy presented GlobalTribe for PBS, a series focusing on
ordinary people searching for solutions to the 21st century challenges we face, and is currently producing
GlobalTribeNet, a new volunteer website for young people wishing to "Be the Change" they wish to see in the world around
them.
KATHY ELDON runs Creative Visions in partnership with her daughter, Amy, and is the author or co-author of 16 books on an
eclectic variety of subjects, ranging from issues of loss, healing and empowerment to the epicurean delights of Kenya.
Among her numerous production credits, she was executive producer of the Emmy nominated Turner Broadcasting feature
documentary, Dying to tell the Story, and exec-produced for CNN Soldiers of Peace: A Children's Crusade,
about the Colombian children's peace movement, which was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Lost in Africa, a family
film, was distributed by Columbia. She is now producing a feature about her son, artist and Reuters photographer
Dan Eldon, who was stoned to death at the age of 22 in Somalia, and developing an animated series based on the principals
of GlobalTribe, G-Tribe.
STAN FOSTER, a member of the Directors Guild of America, has been active in the financing, managing,
planning, budgeting, writing, producing and directing of major television and feature film productions. His credits
include work on films directed by Steven Spielberg, Danny DeVito, Barry Levinson, James Cameron, Peter Bogdonovich,
Jackie Cooper, and Hal Ashby. He is founder and CEO of The American Academy of Arts, a non-profit organization
dedicated to the education of students in the visual, digital and performing arts.
CHANCE GARDNER is a writer-producer of television and interactive
documentaries, and president of Cydonia Entertainment, a motion graphics
lab. For such clients as 20th Century Fox Studios, Fox Broadcasting,
Paramount Studios, UPN, Warner Bros., Newscorp and MTV, he has created
hundreds of award-winning on-air campaigns which include thousands of
promotional spots and special event graphics, TV show titles and logo
treatments ranging from the X-Files to the Rolling Stones. Currently he is producing the 8-part documentary series Magical Egypt, featuring legendary Egyptologist
and author John Anthony West, and a stand-alone film featuring Lon Milo DuQuette that unveils the mysteries of Kabbalah,
Kabbalah with a Q: The New Ancient Order.
MICHAEL STEVEN GREGORY is an independent filmmaker and screenwriter of
material ranging from mainstream drama to bio-pics to documentary to
animated action-adventure. With several features in the works, he has also
been a staff writer on TV series for Fox, UPN and HBO, and is currently
attached as either a director or producer on projects including The Great Idea,
Behind the Badge and Spooks. We, The Screenwriter, the follow-up
to his acclaimed We, The Writer, is his latest film. He is also
president of The American Academy of Arts, president of Random Cove, ie and executive director of the
Southern California Writers' Conference.
MICHAEL KARP alternates between the worlds of Hollywood visual effects and independent theatrical cinematography/story
development. As a camera operator for directors James Cameron, Stan Winston, Ridley Scott and Michael Bay, he has worked
on some of the biggest blockbusters, crewing on such films such as Titanic, Apollo 13, True Lies,
X-Men, X-Men 2, Fifth Element, Terminator 2, T2-3D, and commercials for Levi's,
Budweiser, Dodge and Minolta. As a 3D digital artist and cameraman, Michael has worked for Warner
Brothers, Sony, Disney, Kodak, Digital Domain, Rhythm & Hues and ILM, and has photographed performers such as Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson and the Pillsbury Doughboy.
JIM ORR is an award-winning cinematographer who has lensed 10 independent
feature films including the upcoming Fly Boys, starring Tom Sizemore (Black Hawk Down),
Stephen Baldwin (The Usual Suspects) and Jesse James (As Good as it Gets,
Pearl Harbor), Clipping Adam, starring Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher
(One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest), Kevin Sorbo (Andromeda), and Chris Eigeman
(Maid in Manhattan), and All You Need, starring Kellie Martin (ER) and
Robert Pine. In documentary, he has filmed several shows for National
Geographic, the BBC and the Discovery Channel, was DP for PBS's
multi-Emmy Award winning Liquid Stage: The Lure of Surfing, Searching for a
Safe Place, Tolerance on Trial, La Mera Frontera (The Very Edge) and the
current Bigger Boxes: America's Love of Superstores. Recognition for his
work includes three Emmys, a CINE Golden Eagle, and a Vision Award.
STANZI STOKES has been casting motion pictures for over 20 years, including such titles as The Terminator, Silent Night,
Deadly Night, The Return of the Living Dead, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and the upcoming Fish Don't Blink.
GEORGE STOKES, Vice President, Allied Artists Pictures, has been involved in every aspect of film production for the past
35 years as a film producer, line producer, production designer and production manager. Having worked for Paramount, Warner
Brothers, Columbia, Amblin' Entertainment and other studios, he is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of
Southern California's Film School, UCLA and elsewhere.
More participants to be announced.
Focusing on project-based programs with an
emphasis on digital cinema, by bringing in Hollywood professionals to mentor
students The American Academy of Arts' unique approach to education combines real-world experience
with the latest technology to bolster career placement opportunities for aspiring media artists.
WHAT: Student Television Network Affiliates Convention
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