Eli Akira Kaufman (California King, UCLA, production, 2003) directed California King, which has been screened at festivals around the country and consequently been nominated for and won several important awards including: the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 29th College Television Award, Student Emmy: 3rd Place Drama, 35th Student Academy Award as a Regional Finalist, and the 2008 MTV Best Filmmaker on Campus Top 25. California King is currently screening on The Sundance Channel.
Nicole Haeusser (The Death Strip, UCLA, production, 2005) has received numerous awards for her film The Death Strip, which has played at many festivals. The awards include the Directors Guild of America Best Student Filmmaker award (West Coast/Women winner), the International Cinematographers Guild’s Emerging Cinematographers Award, and most recently a College Television Award (winner in the Best Drama category) also known as the Student Emmy. Nicole Haeusser has a feature documentary, Little Joe, in post-production.
Jay Burke (Whaling City, Columbia, screenwriting, 2005) is preparing to shoot his feature, Whaling City, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The story centers on a third-generation commercial fisherman struggling to keep his boat despite tightening regulations, and the relationship he develops with a local marine biologist studying fish counts. The project won a 2005 Sloan screenwriting award and a 2007 Sloan production grant. The project was selected as one of 40 films that will be featured in 2008 at the No Borders co-production market at the IFP Independent Film Week. Whaling City will be produced by Chip Hourihan, who recently produced Frozen River (Courtney Hunt), winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
James Darling (In Motion, NYU, screenwriting, 2005), won the Second Prize, the Best Directing Award, and a Screenwriting Craft Award at the 2007 NYU First Run Film Festival for his thesis film, Citizen (2007).
Greg Harrison (Groove, November), who received a 2006 Sloan grant for the development of The Radioactive Boy Scout, has completed the script and is currently developing the film with producing partners Danielle Renfrew and Bill Horberg of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. The film tells the true story of a 16-year-old scout in Michigan who, in the pursuit of his Eagle badge, built the core of a nuclear reactor in his backyard shed.
Adam Kargman (Atrocity, USC, production, 2005), directed a short film, Repressions (2007), which screened at various festivals including the 2007 LA International Shorts Festival.
Sloan filmmakers: If you have news about your latest project or upcoming screenings, drop us a line at scienceandfilm@movingimage.us.