Roll ’em

Mason zooms in on documentary filmmaking.

By Tara Laskowski, MFA ’06

Move over Ken Burns, Michael Moore, and Errol Morris. This fall, Mason launches its Film and Video Studies (FAVS) Program, the first such program in Virginia focused on documentary filmmaking, with a curriculum that covers artistic, business, and technical skills, as well as critical analysis.

“We live in a time where film and video are increasingly replacing pen and paper. Just look at YouTube for evidence,” says Bill Reeder, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.?“Our FAVS Program will embrace this evolution.”

Mason will launch the new program with an inaugural film festival October 19 to 21 in Dewberry Hall and the Johnson Center Cinema on the Fairfax Campus. The event will feature the work of Ron Maxwell and Richard E. Robbins, as well as alumni and student films.

In addition to screening films, the festival will include several special events. Richard Wood, BA Communication ’95, and James Brown, BA English ’96, past winners of the

48-Hour Film Project, will hold a panel discussion with Mark Ruppert, creator of the 48-Hour Film Project, on how they successfully wrote, shot, and edited their award-winning films in just one weekend. In addition, Arts Fairfax will pre-sent the best of its annual Video Fairfax, an event that highlights the Fairfax County Public Schools’ K–12 video award winners.

Cox Communication is a media sponsor of the Mason Film Festival. As part of the FAVS course work, Mason students will create public service announcements for the festival. The best of these will be aired on Cox Communication channels.