The School of Visual Arts' 14th Annual Dusty Film Festival and Awards is coming up this spring. At this event, School of Visual Arts students graduating from the Film, Video and Animation Department will be recognized for their outstanding achievements. It's the largest and longest running film festival of its kind and it's happening May 5 - 8 in Manhattan, at MOMA Film at the Gramercy Theatre, and culminating with an awards ceremony at the majestic Ziegfeld Theatre.
One extraordinary entry in the festival is Ryan Kautz's Born an Exile, a documentary about Tibetan youth and how the Chinese occupation has affected them. To make the film, Kautz spent five months shooting in Tibet, Nepal, and India. In India he lived with a Tibetan family and spent much time with young Tibetans there. The film offers a rare glimpse at an exotic, even forbidden world. Normally the Chinese don't allow western filmmakers in Tibet, but Kautz's status as a young student afforded him the type of access unavailable to a professional crew. Kautz is a native of Monument, Colorado.
Another stand-out entry in the festival is Steffen Vala's Willis Sillim's Tall Tale. It's about a circus freak tormented by his extreme height, who eventually finds true love with a belly dancer. The character's torment is relevant to the filmmaker, who is 6'6" and has long experienced pain and embarrassment because of his height. Vala is orginally from Denmark and now lives in Gainesville, Florida.
The Dusty Film Festival and Awards will close with a gala awards ceremony and reception on the evening of May 8. Each year at the ceremony, a star-studded roster of cinematic luminaries presents awards to the filmmakers. Past award presenters include Harvey Keitel, Danny Aiello, Treat Williams, Richard Price, Wes Craven, Griffin Dunne, and Ralph Bakshi.
CONTACTAdam EisenstatDirector of CommunicationSchool of Visual [email protected]
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