Event Details
The RIT School of Film and Animation (SOFA) is considered one of the best film schools in the country, and this showcase highlights some of the best work from RIT SOFA students from the last academic year. Join us as we celebrate these bold new voices in the film and animation industries! The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Emmy-Nominated Writer/Director and RIT Professor, Amy Adrion, and the student filmmakers in attendance.
Shorts
Plane Pals (Director: Kristin Theler)
Making friends with paper airplanes
Ialu (Director: Sebastian Nazario-Colon)
A recluse with uncontrollable powers getting a shot at love.
The Tale of Mari (Director: Anya Vaughn)
Mari, an elderly Japanese woman, recounts her experiences growing up in Okinawa, moving to America, and attempting to become a newspaper cartoonist.
Tomte’s Tulip (Director: Elleheyn Hallock)
A gnome takes care of an elderly woman in her final days
The Chaos Clover (Director: Devin Grover)
When a man finally gets an elusive four leaf clover, its magic isn’t quite what it seemed.
My Dog’s Leg (Director: Ashton Polak)
A father creates a monster-driven fantasy story to explain to his daughter how their dog lost her leg-and how he and the dog tried to get it back.
Looking Glass (Director: Katelyn Park)
Two young entrepreneurs explore their perceptions of each other and of themselves.
Nest (Director: Corrigan Owen)
A lone survivor and a mysterious individual form a fragile alliance to protect a rare ecosystem.
Where I Wonder (Director: Oliver Nyquist)
Generational belief and me.
I had To (Director: Vinh Nguyen)
An exploration of my Vietnamese background in order to bridge generational gaps created by a defining war.
She Flies Asunder (Director: Ella Shea)
A flying trapeze artist preforms a quadruple flip.
Washed Up (Director: Ashlyn Kreiss)
A tired model decides to take back control of her life from her sleazy modeling agent in this provocative animated comedy.
Resurrection Story (Director: Jahaad Shairi)
A widow resurrects her husband’s mindless body in a misguided effort to force their relationship back into stability.
Suz & Lolly in: Saturday Night Close Encounters (Director: Reagan Christie)
Two girls run over a little grey alien on their way to a night out and give him the best night of his life.
Guest
Amy Adrion, Emmy Nominated Writer/Director
Amy Adrion is an Emmy nominated director and writer whose work has screened at the Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca Film Festivals, been broadcast on STARZ, PBS, and MTV, and won numerous awards.
Amy’s debut feature, HALF THE PICTURE, which celebrates the groundbreaking work of women and non-binary film directors, had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and won the #WhatNext Award at Sundance Film Festival: London. HALF THE PICTURE is rated 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, was released theatrically nationwide and premiered on the STARZ Network. HALF THE PICTURE is currently available on streaming platforms, including Kanopy, and continues to be broadcast internationally.
In 2023, Amy was nominated for a Children’s and Family Emmy Award for her work directing the beloved series Storyline Online which is Executive Produced by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. The long running series features actors reading children’s books and is screened in classrooms around the country, garnering millions of views. Amy has directed episodes with John Lithgow, Angela Bassett, Seth Meyers, Julianna Margulies, Lea Michelle, Sutton Foster and Tramell Tillman.
Amy’s short films include her UCLA thesis film, SHOEGAZER, which won a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Student Film Award, THE HOME OF SPLIT PEA SOUP (Los Angeles Film Festival) and SURVIVING 7TH GRADE (Tribeca Film Festival).
Amy’s television work includes directing SUCKS LESS WITH KEVIN SMITH for MTV while a graduate student at UCLA.
Amy has a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) from UCLA, with an undergraduate degree in Literature and Theology from Georgetown University. Amy grew up in Hillsdale, New Jersey playing sports and watching movies and now enjoys coaching sports and making movies in Rochester, New York (Go Bills!) where she currently teaches filmmaking at RIT and lives with her kids and dogs.
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