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THE FACULTY

Bob Alotta manages the digital media center for the Columbia University School of the Arts Film Division.

Matt Christiansen is an MFA candidate at Columbia University’s film program. As well as writing screenplays, Matt has worked in lighting and camera department on numerous feature and short films.

Alvaro Donado is a producer of shorts and features including the award winning Zen and the Art of Landscaping and Messsengers. He is also a graduate of Columbia University’s film division.

Jon Fauer, ASC has won many awards for his work, including Best Cinematography at the NY Festivals, Gold Camera Award for Best Cinematography at the US International Film Festival, CINE Gold Eagles,CINDY Golds, Tellies, BOLI's, Chris's, and Worldmedals. He is author of three best-selling books on cinematography: Arriflex 16SR3: The Book, The 16SR Book and The Arriflex 35 Book. WEBSITE:

Federico Gonzalez is a filmmaker/sound designer whose directing credits include Hi-ya!. Federico is a very talented director who has been with the IFI for two years.

David Hammer is a director/cinematographer whose production experience includes the television series Law & Order, television commercials, feature and short films, and corporate videos.

Rona Mark is an award winning filmmaker and graduate of Columbia University's graduate film program. Film awards include finalist at the Student Academy awards, Filmmaker magazine Audience Choice Award, Best comedy at the Polo Ralph Lauren film festival, and recipient of the Milos Forman Fund Award.

Joan Stein won the 2000 student Academy Award and the Director's Guild of America Award for her short film One Day Crossing. She has taught the Documentary film course at Columbia University where she received her MFA in film.

Fred Strype is a writer/producer and president of Raindance Pictures, which currently has several projects in development, including a dramatic one-hour television series for the FX Channel.

Misael Sanchez is the cinematography concentration coordinator at the Columbia University graduate program. He has produced several one hour documentary programs for television, shot numerous award winning short films.

* Faculty and Guest speakers are invited to teach on a rotating schedule as their availability allows.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Andy Bienen co-wrote the recently acclaimed feature Boys Don't Cry, and teaches graduate screenwriting at Columbia University, from where he earned an MFA in film.

Gerry Byrne has been a producer, production manager and post-production supervisor on such major feature films as: Gangs of New York, Man on the Moon, Nobody’s Fool and The Firm.

Lewis Cole is the author of thirteen screenplays and four books, and the former Chair of the graduate film program at Columbia University, where he currently teaches screenwriting.

Larry Engel is an Emmy-award-winning documentary filmmaker, whose work is seen regularly on The Discovery Channel, PBS, and National Geographic.

Amy Gossels has been a casting director in New York for over ten years. She’s worked on films such as Zen and the Art of Landscaping, Mourning Glory, Broken, and Hi-ya. Her most recent project involved a feature film with Jack Nicholson.

Tom Kalin is director of Swoon, and producer of I Shot Andy Warhol. He teaches graduate directing at Columbia University.

Peter Katz has been producing theatrical films and television movies for the past 25 years. His credits as producer or executive producer include such feature films as “Don’t Look Now” (Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie), “The Wrath of God” (Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth), “One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovitch” (Tom Courtenay), and for television, ten “Perry Mason” movies (Raymond Burr), “Kill Me If You Can” (Alan Alda, Talia Shire), “The Million Dollar Field” (Rob Reiner, Bonnie Bedelia) and “Sophia; My Life and Loves,” (Sophia Loren, Armand Assante). Mr. Katz began his film career with director Robert Aldrich as a casting director and then dialogue director on “The Dirty Dozen.”

Eric Mendelsohn is the director of Judy Berlin and a member of the graduate directing faculty at Columbia University.

Katherine Orloff, former senior marketing executive at Columbia Pictures, has supervised publicity and promotion on such films as “Gandhi,” “Tootsie,” “Ghostbusters,” and “The Big Chill,” served as unit publicist on “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Interview with the Vampire,” “The Horse Whisperer,” and “John Grisham’s The Rainmaker,” and as a journalist has written for the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone and the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as teaching journalism at California State University, Northridge.

Nicholas Proferes is a director/cinematographer who has taught directing at Columbia University's graduate film school for the past twenty years. His new book on directing will be released in the Spring of 2001.

Larry Singer has been the ADR supervisor on dozens of feature films. His credits include Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Back to the Future and When Harry Met Sally.

Todd Walker is an award winning filmmaker whose films have screened at Cinema du Reel, Seattle International Film Festival, Kracow Film Festival and the San Francisco Film Festival. He was also the assistant editor on Dracula and Godfather III.

Brendan Ward is a screenwriter who has taught graduate screenwriting at the Yale School of Drama, New York University, and Columbia University.