Emerson students win $10,000 prize for documentary film on gangs
05/08/08
A team of Emerson communication students has won the $10,000 first prize in Campus MovieFest's social justice film competition, known as Elfenworks. The team, members of Professor Greg Payne's Communication Theory class, had already won $2,500 for placing in the top three. The final awards in a number of categories were present in New York City on May 3.
The wining social justice film was The Street Crusade, a documentary about youth gangs in Boston. The student filmmakers are team leaders Corinne Mesa '10 and Rosalind Fraser '10 and team members Eric Tollar '09 (at right with Payne) and Drew Cookson '10.
Their participation in the competition came about after Payne told students they could either take a final exam or produce a creative documentary. "Our students always do good work," said Payne, "but this documentary is truly outstanding. I couldn't be more pleased."
Campus MovieFest is the largest student film festival in the world. The Elfenworks competition challenges students "to create films that capture the often untold stories of those in our communities who are 'in harmony with hope' and making a difference in helping with domestic poverty," said the contest's website.
Emerson to honor entertainment, education and literature leaders at May 19th Commencements
04/27/08
The president of MTV Networks Entertainment, an influential film critic, a prominent sociologist and social activist, and a lauded writer and winner of a MacArthur Foundation 'genius' grant each will receive honorary degrees at Emerson College's Commencement exercises on Monday, May 19, at the Citi Center/Wang Theatre.
Some 750 bachelor's degrees will be conferred at the 128th annual undergraduate ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m. Three hundred and twenty-five master's degrees will be conferred during the graduate exercises, which start at 3 p.m.
MTV president and Emerson alumnus Doug Herzog '81 (r) will deliver the undergraduate address. Herzog is former president of Comedy Central, where he spearheaded several current signature standouts, including the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and South Park.
Herzog will receive an honorary degree along with film critic Andrew Sarris, who served as film critic for The Village Voice for almost 30 years and as the editor of the English-language version of the influential French film magazine Cahiers du Cinema. He is best known as the primary spokesman for the "politique des auteurs" -- or auteur theory.
The graduate address will be delivered by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, a philosophy professor who has authored short stories, essays, biographies and five novels, including the critically acclaimed novel, The Mind-Body Problem. She won a MacArthur prize in 1996 in recognition of "novels and short stories (that) dramatize the concerns of philosophy without sacrificing the demands of imaginative storytelling."
Goldstein will receive an honorary degree along with Charles V. Willie, the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education Emeritus at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, work has focused on education, family affairs, public health, community organizations and race and ethnic relations.
Brill, Kulhawik to be honored at Emerson EVVY Awards ceremony
05/01/08
Comedian Eddie Brill '80 and WBZ -TV arts and entertainment reporter Joyce Kulhawik will be honored at Emerson College's 27th annual EVVY Awards ceremony at the Cutler Majestic Theatre on May 16 and 17. For ticket information visit www.maj.org.
Brill will receive the Alumni Award of Distinction, which recognizes an Emerson graduate for outstanding achievement in the fields of communication, visual and performing arts. Kulhawik will receive the Award of Distinction in recognition of her achievement as communications industry professional.
Brill has worked on The Late Show with David Letterman as a warm-up host and talent coordinator for the past 11 years. He is also a three-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabaret and Clubs) Award Winner for Best Male Stand-up Comic in the New York City area. As an undergraduate, Brill helped to create the Emerson Comedy Workshop, a comedy troupe that continues today. He later helped to develop one of the first collegiate comedy writing departments in the country.
As a contributor to the region's cultural landscape, Kulhawik has helped focus attention on local artists and events, as well as covering all aspects of Broadway and Hollywood actors and events. Kulhawik is a member of the Boston/New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Silver Circle (2006) and has been inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Created in 1981, the EVVY Awards recognize Emerson student work in the entertainment and communications fields. The show has evolved into an elaborate, eleven-camera production modeled after The Academy Awards® and the Emmy® Awards that is produced, crewed and inspired by Emerson students. It is the largest student run award show in the country.
