Tisch Alumnus Alec Baldwin Will Serve on the Panel of Judges Selecting the Films
The Tisch School of the Arts and its Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at New York University have announced that it will partner with the Hallmark Movie Channel to showcase short films from the talented student and alumni filmmakers of the well known school. This is the first effort of its kind for Hallmark Movie Channel, the all-family-movie network that aims to celebrate the human spirit through movies. The films will be selected by a panel of judges. Actor Alec Baldwin 94 (30 Rock), alumnus of the Tisch School and co-chair of the Schools Deans Council, will serve on the panel.
The films will begin airing in October under the branded banner of Film Positive. They can also be viewed online at www.hallmarkmoviechannel.com.
We are excited to partner with Hallmark Movie Channel in this unique new showcasing opportunity for our filmmakers, said Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts. Films need audiences and this venture is important not only as a venue for our students work but also for the national exposure it provides. We extend our thanks to Hallmark as well as to Henry Schleiff at Crown Media for choosing the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television.
This alliance provides a unique opportunity for young up-and-coming filmmakers to showcase their work on a national platform, and serves as a layer of added educational value for NYUs film students, said Schleiff, president and chief executive officer, Crown Media. The project also expands Hallmark Movie Channels visibility in the filmmaking community and establishes the channel as an outlet for collaborative and creative expression.
Hallmark Movie Channel will launch the initiative with four new student films. The films will each run between three and 20 minutes in length and air in various timeslots and day parts.
According to Hallmark, each short student film will meet certain brand-defining criteria in order to qualify for inclusion on the schedule. The films will be judged on their production value, their inspirational and celebratory themes, storytelling qualities, and, above all, appropriateness for the entire family.
Hallmark Movie Channel, the second linear channel from Crown Media U.S., simulcast in SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition), is a 24-hour cable network dedicated to bringing viewers the greatest family movies of all time with a mix of classic theatrical films, presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library, original Hallmark Channel movies, and special events. In todays crowded television landscape, the network is a unique and captivating entertainment experience, providing programming families can watch together, and is now available in nearly 16 million homes. Crown Media also operates Hallmark Channel which provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of 86 million subscribers. For more information on Hallmark Movie Channel, please visit www.hallmarkmoviechannel.com.
The Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts provides an intensive and professional education in filmmaking. The program shared first place in recent U.S. News and World Report rankings of the nations film programs; since 1992, sixteen Student Academy Award gold medals have been presented to NYU student filmmakers by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. And at the Sundance Film Festival, the premiere showcase for independent film, not only is Tisch consistently represented among the approximately 200 films screened every year, but in 2005 and 2006 Tisch alumnis films took home nine prizes. Moreover, at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, thesis student Cary Fukunaga won the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic competition for his film Sin Nombre, which also received the Excellence in Cinematography Award. Approximately 150 graduate and 1,050 undergraduate film students pursue degrees in film and television production, photography, cinema studies, dramatic writing, and interactive telecommunications. Distinguished alumni of the Kanbar Institute include Joel Coen, Chris Columbus, Billy Crystal, Martha Coolidge, Ernest Dickerson, Amy Heckerling, Jim Jarmusch, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, Brett Ratner, Nancy Savoca, Martin Scorsese, Susan Seidelman, and Oliver Stone, among many others.