Alum Films at Tribeca, "Must Sees"

Of all 86 films screening at Tribeca this year, 16 were selected as, "Must Sees" by NY Mag -- 2 of which, Cropsey and Racing Dreams, were worked on by TEC alums. Cropsey, a documentary which delves into the mysterious disappearance of kids on Staten Island in the 80's by the hands of a "bogeyman," was edited by alum and instructor Anita Gabrosek, co-edited by TEC instructor Pete Beaudreau, TEC alum and instructor Todd Holmes was an additional editor on the film and TEC alums Faisal Azam and Ben Stark were assistant editor and associate editor respectively. The documentary, Racing Dreams, follows kids competing in the World Karting Association's National Pavement Series. TEC alum, Matthew Hamachek, was one of the editors alongside TEC guest lecturers, Mary Manhardt and director, Marshall Curry.

Alum Films Premiere at SXSW

Many TEC Alums premiered their films at SXSW 2009 this month in a variety of categories. Amy Foote was the editor of The Least of These, a documentary focusing on the detainment center in Hutto, Texas that houses immigrant families while they seek asylum. Richard Whitaker of the Austin Chronicle called it a "...quiet and measured documentary." The Least of These is part of a new concept in distribution deals. The night it premiered at SXSW it was also available online at SnagFilms and will be followed by physical and semi-theatrical distribution by IndiePix and Cinema Guild according the indieWIRE. In the shorts category of the festival, the film Tess and Nana premiered which was edited by TEC alums Kate Abernathy and Ron Dulin. Alum, Jenny Lee, was the editor and co-producer of True Adolescents which premiered in the Narrative Competition section. Eric Snider of Cinematical notes of writer/director, Craig Johnson, that he "keeps the humor down-to-earth" in this "...realistic coming-of-age story." True Adolescents will screen next at the Vail Film Festival.

Class Films Premiere at SXSW

Garbage Dreams, a film that celebrates the richness, strength and vitality of Egypt's community of indigenous garbage collectors, known as the Zaballeen or “garbage people," was a crowd favorite at the festival selling out for all three of its screenings. Of Sorry, Thanks, Eric Kohn of indieWIRE writes the film has "keen insight into human behavior," and that it "...has a wonderfully coherent structure, fully developed personalities and mostly gorgeous photograph." Garbage Dream's next screening will be at the Vail Film Festival in April. Sorry, Thanks' next stop will be at the Sarasota Film Festival in April as well.

Edit Center Student Mentioned in Oscar Acceptance Speech

Editor, Chris Dickens won the Oscar for Achievement in Film Editing for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. TEC Alum Udayan Baijal was an assistant editor on film and in his acceptance speech Mr. Dickens thanked Udayan amongst the people in his crew in India. Slumdog Millionaire walked away with eight Academy Awards on Oscar night.

Vail Film Festival: Class Films and Alums

Two class films, Trucker and Garbage Dreams, will be screening at this year's Vail Film Festival. Trucker, the project of the September 2007 class, stars Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Gone Baby Gone) and Nathan Fillion (Waitress, Serenity) -- the film was post-supervised by TEC alum, Riva Marker. TEC alums Marichelle Tanang and Brian Richman were assistant editors on the documentary, Garbage Dreams, the project of January 2008 class. Also screening at Vail is the narrative film, True Adolescents, edited and co-produced by TEC alum Jenny Lee.

Alum Films at SXSW

Alums, Jenny Lee and Amy Foote, both have films premiering at SXSW this year. Jenny Lee is the editor and co-producer of True Adolescents (starring Melissa Leo and Mark Duplass) which follows aging rocker/slacker Sam who takes two teen boys on an ill-fated hiking trip that forces everyone to grow up, and fast. True Adolescents will compete in the Narrative Feature category. Amy Foote is the editor of The Least of These, a documentary focusing on a detention center for immigrant children in a former medium-security prison, where three activist attorneys discover troubling conditions that lead to controversy. The Least of These will premiere in the Lone Star States Section of the festival.

Two Class Films to Premiere at SXSW

Sorry, Thanks and Garbage Dreams, both projects of the Jan/Feb 2008 class, will premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March. Sorry, Thanks (starring Wiley Wiggins) will premiere in the Emerging Visions section and Garbage Dreams, a film that celebrates the richness, strength and vitality of Egypt's community of indigenous garbage collectors, known as the Zaballeen or “garbage people" will compete in the Documentary Feature category.

Sundance Film Updates

Edit Center alums and teachers received awards, praise and deals at this year's Sundance Film Festival: The Cove, edited by TEC instructor Geoff Richman, won the Documentary Audience Award and was praised by Justin Chang of Variety: "Casting a very wide net, this powerful polemic is simultaneously a love letter to a beloved species, an eye-opening primer on worldwide dolphin captivity, a playful paranoid thriller and a work of deep-seated... moral outrage."; The Missing Person, edited by TEC alum Mollie Goldstein and a 2007 Edit Center class project, was well received at the festival and James Rocchi wrote on Cinematical that the film "isn't merely a clever, cool spin on the classic private eye story...It has the knowing, humane touches of Paul Auster's brilliant urban fiction."; Peter and Vandy, also edited by TEC instructor Geoff Richman and a 2008 Edit Center project, displayed one of the best female performances of the festival (Jess Weixler) states Steve Ramos of indieWIRE; Cold Souls (starring Paul Giamatti), in which TEC instructor Andrew Blackwell was the associate editor, was acquired by Samuel Goldman after the festival; Reporter, a 2007 class project, was reviewed by Eric Kohn of indieWIRE who writes, "With a series of gorgeous, frequently haunting sequences, Metzger captures the wide-ranging responses of struggling Africans." TEC Alums, Daniel Rosen and Bo Mehrad were the associate editor and additional editor, respectively, on Reporter.

TEC Alumni and Instructor, Academy Award Nominees

Congratulations to Alumni and Instructors for their films' 2008 Oscar nominations. Alum Udayan Baijal was the assistant editor on Slumdog Millionaire, which garnered 10 Oscar nomination. TEC instructor, Kate Williams, edited Frozen River (class film May 2007) up for Best Actress, Melissa Leo, and Original Screenplay, writer/director Courtney Hunt. The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), competing for Best Documentary, was post supervised by alum Riva Marker and Sharon Hughes was an assistant editor on the film.

The Winning Season Acquired by Lionsgate

The Winning Season, a project of the November 2008 class, has been picked up by Lionsgate after a successful premiere at Sundance. The film "...touches, in a surprisingly honest, unforced manner, on issues such as alcoholism, adolescent sexual confusion and broken homes, " Justin Chang of Variety. The film stars Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon), Rob Corddry (W.), Emma Roberts (Hotel for Dogs) and was co-produced by TEC alum, Riva Marker.