Spotlight on Alumna Yong Hwa Choi (Class of 2009)

2009 Alumna Yong Hwa Choi has had great success at festivals post-graduation!

Since graduating in 2009, Yong Hwa Choi has not only been working professionally at studios such as  Curious Pictures and PSYOP, she has also continued to submit her senior Thesis film to festivals worldwide. Here is a summary of the successes for her film We Are All Here:

Film Festivals of 2009:

ION International Film Festival - Best Animation
Lakedance Film Festival - Best Animated Film
Urban Media Makers Film Festival - Honorable Mention
Young Cuts Film Festival - Official Selection
Wild Rose Independent Film Festival - Official Selection
Peak City Film Festival - Best Student Animation
Lost Angeles Reel Film Festival - Honorable Mention
Queens Film Festival - Official Selection
Colorado Environmental Film Festival - Official Selection
Miami Short Film Festival - Official Selection
My Hero Short Film Festival - Official Selection
Southern Appalachian International Film Festival - Official Selection
Amelia Island Film Festival - Official Selection
Flip Animation Film Festival - Official Selection
Short Film Center Festival - Official Selection
Anchorage International Film Festival - Official Selection

Film Festivals of 2010:

Official Best of Fest - Best Independent Film
Alaska International Film Festival - Best Animation
Santa Barbara Minute Film Festival - Best of the Fest
Sky Fest - Best Student Animation
Crossroads Film Festival - Best Student Animation
Mountain Film Festival - Best Student Animation
Garden State Film Festival - Best Student Animation
Singapore International Film Festival - Official Selection
Newport Beach Film Festival - Official Selection
Sarasota Film Festival - Official Selection
Washougal International Film Festival - Official Selection
Reel Earth Film Festival - Official Selection
Globians Doc Fest Berlin - Official Selection
International Youth Film Festival - Official Selection
Macon Film Festival - Official Selection
Iron Mule Film Festival - Official Selection
Frozen River Film Festival
New Filmmaker NY Winter Film Festival
The Beloit International Film Festival
Delray Beach Film Festival - Official Selection
KIDS First! Film Festival - Official Selection
Da Vinci Film Festival - Official Selection
Lake County Film Festival - Official Selection
San Francisco Bay Area International Women's Film Festival - Official Selection
Kent Film Festival - Official Selection
Washington, DC Independent Film Festival - Official Selection
Davis Film Festival - Official Selection
Fallbrook Film Festival - Official Selection
Hearts&Minds Film Festival - Official Selection
San Francisco International Children's Film Festival - Official Selection
Indie Spirit Film Festival - Official Selection
Independent Film Society of Colorado - Official Selection
San Francisco Woman's Film Festival - Official Selection
Sun Screen Film Festival - Official Selection
Washougal International Film Festival - Official Selection

You can watch Yong Hwa Choi's film here. 

Best of 2009 Films accepted by Cortoons Festival

For the third consecutive year, Cortoons Festival based in Rome, Italy, has accepted films from our department. This year, Cortoons has accepted all twenty-two of the Best of 2009 films, including a special screening for the film Static by Jack Lykins.

2009 Alumni accepted at PISAF 2009

The 11th Puchon International Student Animation Festival in South Korea has accepted five films by 2009 alumni: Fishy Tale by Sharlene Lin, Believe by Laura Lee, Abyssus by Christian Haniszewski & Rogelio Olguin, The Specials by Angelo Collazo, and Don't Be Late by Chris Piron. This year the festival decided to hold its screenings online, so please visit the following website to see these films and their competitions from around the world: http://pisaf.or.kr/2009/e/index.asp

2009 Alumnus has Festival Screening success across the country!

Sean Hannon, 2009 alumnus and creator of the film Deja Vu has had great success at festivals all over the U.S. since graduating this past May. His film has been accepted by the following festivals: Animazing Spotlight, New Jersey Film Festival, California International Film Festival, and the Louisville International Film Festival. To learn more about Sean and his film's festival screenings, visit his website, http://dejavu-thethesis.blogspot.com/.

2009 Alumnus accepted at SIGGRAPH Asia 2009

At the 2nd ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition in Asia, Oneironaut by Erica Kobren will screen for the world's leading experts on computer graphics and interactive techniques in the city of Yokohama, Japan. This international festival of art, animation, and tomorrow's technologies is associated with the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival held in New Orleans this past August where two other alumni were accepted as well. For more information on this event visit the SIGGRAPH Asia website http://www.siggraph.org/asia2009/.

2009 Alumni accepted at 2009 Flip Animation Festival

Two films by 2009 Alumni will be screening at this year's Flip Animation Festival: Magic Theatre by Jordan Harvey and We Are All Here by Yong Hwa Choi. Flip is an eclectic mix of all things animation... from industry led panels to feature film screenings and from international showcases and retrospectives of short films to spotlights on animation studios. Now in it's sixth year, Flip is organized and hosted by Light House Media Centre in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK. For more information about this festival, please visit their website http://flipfestival.co.uk.

2009 Alumni accepted at 2009 MetroCAF

At this year's MetroCAF, the following four films will screen on the night of October 1st:

Abyssus by Christian Haniszewski and Rogelio Olguin
Magic Theatre by Jordan Harvey
Le Cou Cou by Zed Bennett
The Wizard of Odds by Sheri Wong

A total of twenty-six films were accepted this year from schools in the New York City metro area, including films from SVA's own MFA Computer Art Department. This year's jury consisted of Michelle Barfoot (Mercer County Community College), Lucien Harriot (Mechanism Digital), Nadia Husain (Big Star), Susie Jang (UVPhactory) and Cesar Kuriyama (Charlex). MetroCAF's screening is held at FIT's Haft Auditorium. Please come see these films screen and find out which films receive Jury Recognitions. For more information on this festival and the screening, please visit their website www.MetroCAF.org.

2009 Alumni accepted by Bitfilm Festival

Bitfilm is an online and real-life event for digital animation, visual effects and new media. The following films by our 2009 alumni were accepted by Bitfilm and can be found on their website http://www.bitfilm.de:

Le Cou Cou by Zed Bennett
Deja Vu by Sean Hannon
Fishy Tale by Sharlene Lin
The Wizard of Odds by Sheri Wong
Fall Star by Marian Abbruzzese

Bitfilm offers awards in four different categories, including the 3D Space Award for which "Le Cou Cou" has been nominated, and the FX Mix Award for which "Fall Star" has been nominated. Check back here soon for news regarding these awards.

2008 & 2009 Alumni to screen at YoungCuts Film Festival 2009

This year YoungCuts has accepted eight films by both 2008 and 2009 alumni. These films have not only been accepted, they are also part of the YoungCuts top 100 films at the festival this year and nominated for the following awards:

Best Short Short Award nominees:
 
Le Cou Cou by Zed Bennett (2009)
Static by Jack Lykins (2009)
Alien Abduction by David Han (2008)
Dogface by Shai Halfon (2008)

Best Animation Award and/or Best Original Music Award nominees:

We Are All Here by Yong Hwa Choi (2009)
YEA by Adam Newman (2008)
And Some Days It Rains by Will Frazier (2008)

Best Editing Award and Best Cinematography Award nominee:

Macabre Muse by Dan Devine (2008)

All eight films will be screened and judged during the eight days of the festival in Montreal, Canada. Please check back here for more news regarding these awards. For more information, please visit the YoungCuts website, www.youngcuts.com.

2009 Awards announced at Thesis Encore Screening

At our annual screening of the Senior Thesis films, the awards were announced for the following students:

Jury Award for Best in Show
Christian Haniszewski & Rogelio Olguin for Abyssus

Outstanding Achievement in Motion Graphics & Visual Effects

Jack Lykins, Static
Katie Biese & Sabrina Tenore, Gentle Killer Eyes
Erica Kobren, Oneironaut
Anthony Ferrera, Memento Mori
Laura Lee, Believe
Marian Abbruzzese, Fall Star
Patrick Michalowski, R.E.M. Cycle
Agostino Pugliese, Gnomeus Bellicus
Yong Hwa Choi, We Are Here

Outstanding Achievement in Computer Animation

Zed Bennett, Le Cou Cou
Sean Hannon, Deja Vu
Sharlene Lin, Fishy Tale
Consuelo Macri, Raccoon Trouble
Christopher Piron, Don't Be Late
Sheri Wong, The Wizard of Odds
Gilad Kenan, Catenaccio
Seoyeon 'Ari' Hwang, Nine Tails
Angelo Collazo, The Specials
Du Hoang, Little Pilots
Jordan Harvey, Magic Theatre

Chair's Awards for Excellence

Cecilia Nguyen, Chip

Collaboration at Curious Pictures by Faculty, Alumni & Current Students

The short film, Little Spirit: Christmas in New York, produced and directed by Curious Pictures, premiered Wednesday December 10th at 8:00 pm on NBC. The film involved several people from our department, including:

Yohance Brown - Colorist (alumni 2006)
Marco Burbano - Rigging (alumni 2003)
Will Clark - Animator (alumni 2008)
Angelo Collazo - Animator (class of 2009)
Mark Corotan - Art Director (alumni 2004 and faculty)
Jesse Flores - Texturing (class of 2010)
Stefania Gallico - Modeling (alumni 2007)
Kevin Gironda - Lighting/Compositing (alumni 2008)
David Han - Animator (alumni 2008)
Eric Huang - Modeling, Texturing, Lighting/Compositing (alumni 2008)
Marci Ichimura - Lighting Compositing / Development (alumni 2005)
Felix Lu - Rigging (class of 2009)
Ramon Martin - Texturing, Lighting/Compositing (alumni 2008)
Jess Mireau - Lighting/Compositing (alumni 2008)
Josephine Noh - Texturing, Lighting/Compositing (alumni 2006)
Marta Sovis - Animator (alumni 2008)
Nate Ten - Texturing, Lighting Compositing (alumni 2008)
Masako Toyoda - Modeling (alumni 2007)

Below is a brief description:

When a friendly cabbie (Danny DeVito) tells two young sisters the story of a boy named Leo (Michael Hall D'Addario)who moved to Manhattan with his family, a magical adventure begins. While adjusting to the big city and enjoying the days leading up to Christmas, Leo accidentally loses his dog Ramona in Central Park. Leo is devastated by his loss until a magical creature named Little Spirit appears and takes him on a quest to find Ramona. Leo and Little Spirit venture out on the journey of a lifetime, taking in the festive surroundings of the city and meeting people from all walks of life. By the time Leo is reunited with Ramona, he has an eclectic group of friends that make the strange city seem like home.

To view the trailer for this film, please follow this link http://www.curiouspictures.com