First Look

Annual SCA Filmmaker Showcase Draws Industry Attention

A scene from All You Can Be.

As in years past, First Look 2007 proved a resounding success, drawing hundreds of entertainment executives, agents, managers and general audience members to the Directors Guild of America Theater where they took in a broad array of film and animation projects from the latest generation of SCA filmmakers. 
 
An ongoing event at the school since the mid 1980s and formally organized by the Office of Student-Industry Relations’ Festivals and Distribution in 1992, First Look fare unspooled from April 9th to 13th at the DGA, and featured over 40 advanced short film projects, spanning a wide range of genres from dramas to documentaries to comedies to animated shorts. (An encore presentation at the Norris Theater Complex followed on April 14th.)

“No other school takes over the DGA venue for a full week,” said Director of Festivals and Distribution Sandrine F. Cassidy. “Our goal is to assist our students in presenting their films under the best possible conditions. It’s a great display of the talent poised to shape our industry.” 

“I congratulate all the filmmakers tonight,” said the host of the opening night’s program Ari Sandel ’05, who took home an Academy Award this spring for his short film West Bank Story, which screened at First Look 2005 “There are people who talk about making great films and people who bite the bullet, face their fears and make one. All of you should be very proud.”
 
All SCA students and alumni have the opportunity to enter their work, with submissions ranging from recent productions to alumni films stretching back five to six years.  

“The festival is like a rite of passage,” said Associate Director Student-Industry Relations Allison Melanson, who organizes the showcase. Due to the festival’s popularity, Melanson added that it’s important entries are received as soon as the submission process opens sometime in late summer since films are selected on a first-come, first-served basis and the festival has a maximum running time of 480 minutes. 

“It’s still nerve-wracking to watch,” commented Director Fei Fei Wang ’07 about her sensitive tale of love and heartbreak Unspoken, which closed the opening night’s screening and airs on MTV’s Logo network in May. “What makes this so different is the interaction among the crowd here. I really love the function of the event.” 

Rebecca I. Flores, producer of All You Can Be, a documentary that explores the social, economic, and racial forces at work that lure young kids into Southern California’s Junior ROTC program and then into the U.S. military, agreed. 

“First Look provides an amazing opportunity to get more eyes on your film,” she said. 

In addition to attracting over 400 audience members per night, Cassidy noted that the DVD compilations her team has released of the event since 2002 help further promote the films by sending copies of the year’s entries to various festivals, agents, managements, and distribution companies. 

Associated Events:	April 09, 2007 7:30pm Showcasing Rising Stars At First Look
Associated Person:	Allison Melanson Sandrine Cassidy