May 15, 2003

'Hottest pre-festival in a town full of top-flight film festivals'

Catch the Bay Area's young, rising star moviemakers at the 43rd annual Film Finals, a one-night-only gala at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 16, in McKenna Theatre. The event features screenings of SFSU student films, a reception, surprise guests and awards.

The films are a dynamic, exciting mix of short narratives, documentaries, experimental work, mixed media and animation. Selected by the Cinema Department in a marathon three days of previews and critique before the show, Film Finals is the place where the best student work of the year is unveiled.

"Film Finals is the hottest pre-festival in a town full of top-flight film festivals," San Francisco Film Commissioner Lidia Szajko said.

SFSU student films regularly go on to national and international acclaim on the festival circuit. A student film has screened at the Sundance Film Festival for two consecutive years. Three student films were included in this year's San Francisco International Film Festival, including "The Children of Ibdaa: To Make Something Out of Nothing," which won the festival's Golden Gate Award for Best Bay Area Documentary Short.

Tickets are $5 and available at the Creative Arts box office or by calling (415) 338-2467.

For details, visit the College of Creative Arts Web site.

"One of the nation's top film schools" according to Entertainment Weekly, SFSU's Cinema Department has produced leading filmmakers, including Academy Award winners Steven Zaillian (Best Screenplay, "Schindler's List," 1994), Christopher Boyes (Best Sound Effects Editing, "Pearl Harbor," 2002; "Titanic," 1998) and Steve Okazaki (Best Documentary, "Days of Waiting," 1991).