Friday, October 25, 2024 at 7:00PM

James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

Directors Spotlight event showcases our emerging directors with some of the best films coming out of the UCLA TFT M.F.A. Program. We feature short films from Animation, Documentary and Narrative all produced within their individual Programs. The films are chosen through a lengthy process: first judged by their peers, then by alumni, and finally by a Blue Ribbon Panel of industry professionals.

Distinguished Vanguard Filmmaker Award

 

Director Jon M. Chu

Jon M. Chu is known for his visually stunning blockbuster films, as well as his kinetic work across various genres from groundbreaking series to commercials and films. Additionally, his unique storytelling ability has earned him the honor of inclusion on the Hollywood Reporter’s Power 100 list as well as Variety’s New Hollywood Leaders.

Most recently, Chu directed Universal Pictures’ highly anticipated WICKED, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Part 1 of the feature-film adaptation of the record-breaking musical phenomenon will release in theaters on November 22. His book, Viewfinder, an inspiring memoir about his journey from growing up in the Silicon Valley to transitioning to Hollywood and helming major studio projects, released on July 23 of this year. The book is an uplifting tale of belonging, creativity and learning to see who you truly are.

His recent projects include the critically acclaimed adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS for Warner Bros. Studios as well as the worldwide phenomenon CRAZY RICH ASIANS, which was nominated for numerous awards, including a SAG Award, a Golden Globe and PGA Award. It is one of the top 10 highest grossing romantic comedies of all time and the highest in a decade. It was also the first contemporary studio picture in more than 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast and opened a new chapter in Asian-American representation in Hollywood.

Chu is in production on WICKED: PART TWO, which is set to release on November 21, 2025, and is set to direct the highly anticipated biopic for Britney Spears based on her memoir, The Woman in Me, with Universal. He is also in development on Dr. Seuss’ OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! with Warner Bros and JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot, which will be his first animated film. His previous films include GI. JOE: RETALIATION, NOW YOU SEE ME 2, JUSTIN BIEBER’S NEVER SAY NEVER and many more representing over 1.3 billion dollars in the worldwide box office.

 

 

 

The Films

House Rules | Bridgette Baron

The Grim Reaper forms a unique friendship with a young, clumsy girl.
Bridgette Baron is a 2D animator and illustrator from Seattle, Washington. Her work is inspired by early American cartoons and the comedy of everyday life.

 

Poetica for the Living | Kaith Karishma

A traveler wanders an apocalyptic earth, collecting the last words of the people they meet on their journey. Everyone has a different way of dealing with their grief, and our traveler must learn that they can’t avoid it – the end.
Kaith Karishma was born and raised in Northern California, but has found their home in Los Angeles. They have been a storyteller for as long as they can remember, first learning the craft from their father, who learned it from his mother. This talent for capturing the world has taken them from insomniac, depressed youth to an award winning writer and director. Kaith just graduated with an MFA in Film Production (Narrative Directing) from UCLA. They received a bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They have directed several films, including Kingdom of Your Own, which premiered at the 2021 Burbank International Film Festival where it was nominated for best LGBTQ Short Film. Kaith’s feature screenplay, Reynmar, was awarded the 2020 Dorothy and Sherrill C. Corwin Award for Best Feature Screenplay at University of California, Santa Barbara. Their thesis film, Poetica for the Living, is currently in post-production and won them the Class Artist award at UCLA in 2024. As a nonbinary & queer, autistic, mixed Indian filmmaker, Kaith writes films primarily about moving forward from loss and trauma, accepting death, and anti-imperialism. Their goal in the film industry is to increase representation and to tell stories about under-represented demographics, like themself, that are rarely seen on the big screen.

Hansel and Gretal | Yiru Deng

Lost and desperate, two children stumble upon an RV deep in the desert. As they knock on the door, a horrific truth is revealed from the fairy tale.
Yiru Deng studied animation as an undergraduate and am currently a second year animation student. I look forward to creating more independent films in the coming semesters as I had a productive time here at TFT last year. My top three films are Pulp Films, The Gentlemen, and Ratatouille.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heartbreak in Another Tongue | Sonia Gonzalez

While visiting her distant American cousins during summer vacation, the young and rebellious Ana experiences the pains of adulthood when she unexpectedly gets her first period minutes before the long-awaited 4th of July fireworks show.
SONIA GONZALEZ is a Mexican-American writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. After studying French Literature at Stanford University, Sonia moved to Paris, France to work in television development. Drawing from multicultural influences, Sonia’s narrative projects often explore personal themes related to language, loneliness, and loss. In 2023, Sonia was chosen for NALIP and Netflix’s Women of Color Film Incubator program to write, direct, and produce HEARTBREAK IN ANOTHER TONGUE. Most recently, she wrote the short film MINISTRY OF LONELINESS which was selected for the official competition of the Academy-qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival. Sonia is currently in post-production for her thesis film LEILA, LEILA, LEILA.

 

Don’t Be Long, Little Bird | Reem Jubran

Reem Jubran is a filmmaker, scholar, and artist. Her work focuses on beauty, identity, and memory. She completed many short experimental film projects while achieving her BA in Film Studies from UC Berkeley and continued her film education in Palestine, where she worked as Assistant Director on Palestinian feature films. Today, she holds an MFA in Directing from UCLA. Her first short film in graduate school, Mariam, played at 16 film festivals internationally in six countries, and was especially recognized by the 45th Asian American International Film Festival and Festival Ciné Palestine. Reem’s story and the making of this film is featured in an Emmy-award winning documentary by LAist and KCET Artbound Series documentary feature episode on the LA Rebellion, titled “LA Rebellion: A Cinematic Movement”
A young woman, on the verge of running away from her mother, is unwillingly whisked in time from California to 1930s Palestine, where she is found by her great-grandmother, also on the verge of running away from home. How will history repeat itself?

 

 

Land Lover | Courtney Chapman

 

Land Lover is a stop motion animated music video about a pirate who is in love with the moon.
Courtney Chapman is a stop motion animator and fabricator from UCLA’s Animation Workshop with a BFA in English from the same university. Courtney dedicated her time at TFT to developing her art direction and fabrication skills in stop motion animation and live action production. She currently works as the Prop Master at the digital media studio Smosh, making all things tiny and large!

 

Promise | D. Wilmos Paul

Promise, a single mother facing deportation and John, an ex-con with a business idea, find their marriage of convenience becoming something more.
D. Wilmos Paul is a graduate of UCLA’s film and television program. Wilmos is a three-time award winning filmmaker who hails from Liberia, West Africa. His short film, Mother’s Tongue was awarded at UCLA’s Director Spotlight Showcase and was featured at the Smithsonian Institute. Wilmos latest short film, Promise—a proof of concept—premiered at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) June (2024) and will be featured on American Airlines starting November 2024 through the ABFF Channel as part of their Inflight Entertainment platform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of Those Nights | Yuwei Zhang

A strange order request brings June, a young delivery driver, into a night of magic.
Originally from China, Yuwei is a filmmaker currently pursuing an MFA degree in narrative directing at UCLA. Her background lies in cognitive science and visual arts, and she is passionate about incorporating what she learned through her past academic training, such as psychology, anthropology, and mix media art, into her filmmaking practice. Most of her works focus on constructing worlds that are stripped down to their essence, allowing the audience to immerse in the story and the internal dilemmas of the characters while questioning and investigating the absurd nature of reality.