Planting Hope, documents a scholarship program that was created by, South Carolina's Premiere Topiary Artist, Pearl Fryar. The scholarship is different from other programs because it targets students with low grade point averages who still have a desire to attend college. Conventional wisdom would say Pearl is rewarding mediocrity, but in this documentary Pearl explains how he is encouraging achievement. Pearl states, by nurturing the student at the bottom, we can curtail crime, poverty and create hardworking adults ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
Pearl's personal story is inspiring because with no formal training in horticulture or formal education, he has transformed the 3 acres of land surrounding his home into a world renowned topiary masterpiece. What's even more amazing is that most of it's 20 foot spiraling trees and Seussian bushes began as salvages from the trash bins of local nurseries. When visitors from all over the world step into Pearl's garden they are immediately awestruck by it's beauty, whimsy and inspirational energy.
Planting Hope was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and produced at the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television. Shooting took place at the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville, South Carolina and at the Clinton Junior College in North Carolina where several of the scholarship winners were in attendance. The film was completed in June of 2010 and has screened on the Bill and Melinda Gates YouTube Channel and the Time Warner Cable YouTube Channel. The film also won the Time Warner Cable/ Independent Film Channel Short Film Contest and was available at Time Warner Cable's Free On Demand Channel during the months of January and February 2011.
CAST
Pearl Fryar
Raja Berryhill
Karen Johnson
Elaine J. Copeland
Ennis Bryant
Lindsey Kerr
CREW
Kimberly Townes, Director
Steven Crowe, Producer
Mike Gantman, Writer
Sarah DiLeo, Supervising Producer
Christina Carrea, Cinematographer
Corrin Hodgson, Assistant Camera
Nneka Samuel, Production Sound
Mercedes Riva, Sound Design
Hannis Brown, Music
Kimberly Townes, Editor
Jake Blackstone, Colorist
SPECIAL THANKS:
Pearl Fryar, Metra Fryar, Lindsey Kerr, The Garden Conservancy, Raja Berryhill, Mary Berryhill, Karen Johnson, Ennis Byrant, Dr. Elaine Copeland, Clinton Junior College, The Friends of Pearl Fryar, Lee County Public School System, Dr. Nathaniel Nelson, Dr. Cleo Richardson, Delois J. Townes, Robin White, Marvin White, Queenie Boyd, Alexander Boyd, Sarah Stuckey, Corey Simon, Xavier Tatarkiewicz, Jesse Dylan, Micheal Tronick, Barbara Boyle, Myrl Schriebman, Rory Kelly, Tom Denove, and the faculty and staff at UCLA.
PlantingHopeEPK2011.pdf
GAME MASTER is the story of a Barista who is crushed by his World of Warcraft addicted alter ego when he tries to have a date.
Cast:
Zack Bennett
Ariana Savalas
Amanda Spencer
Rosemary Garza
Alex Endeshaw
CREW:
Director/ Producer/ Editor/ Writer
Kimberly Townes
Assistant Director Hezekiah Lewis
2nd Assistant Directors
Nora Gruber and Chris Carrea
Producer Wendy James
Director of Photography
Xavier Tatarkiewicz
Assistant Camera
David Jacobsen
2nd AC
Senae Hyashi
Sound Mixer
Estuardo Galvez
Boom Operators
Marie Lee
Willie Townes
Key Grip
Randall Griffith
Gaffer
Yoon Choi
Grips
Michelle Vine
Chris Carrea
Sylvia Terry
Karen Glienke
Brent Gordon
Key Makeup Artist
Liz Mendoza
Costumer
Nzingha Kemp
Stunt Coordinator Jennifer
Vanshea
Sound Designer
Chris Henry
Sound Editor
Tom Player
Original Music/Composer
Hannis Brown
Digital Technology Assistants
Mira Lew
Julie Sagalowsky
Sharon Hill
Special Thanks to:
Gyula Gazdag, Watson, Hezekiah Lewis, Zeke Rettman and Cafe Bacio Staff, Sandra Lawton, Blizzard Entertainment and the faculty and staff at UCLA
Tom Denove, and the faculty and staff at UCLA.
An experimental journey into the insecurities of a young woman. Driven to the extremes of cosmetic surgery, our young girl visualizes going under the knife in glamorously gory detail.
CAST:
Lead
Sarah Schanz
Nurse
Caitlin Hickey
Vanessa Rojas
Doctor
Parker Jenkins
Mark Birch
Models
Jamie Burton-Oare
Kristin Faulconer
Director/ Producer/Editor/Writer
Christina Carrea
Assistant Director
2nd Assistant Director
Allison Schwartz
Puja Maewel
Dave Berry
Ben Peyser
Topher Osborne
Julie Mueller
Makeup Effects Artist
Belinda Starkie, Jessica McMunn, Rand Soares, Kahlil Hudson, Sandra Lawton
and the faculty and staff at UCLA
Broken Dolls, a story in which a teenage girl has an unwanted sexual encounter with her uncle, touches on a multitude of issues including infidelity, alcoholism, lust, secrecy, interfamily abuse, the extended family network, guilt, honesty and trust. The objective of the film is to illustrate that pedophilia effects teenagers as well as children and to point out how difficult it is for American families to cope with serious issues, especially those that are considered taboo.
Nicole
Bianca DeGroat
Uncle Ron
Michael Phillip Edwards
Aunt Joan
Ingrid Walters
Clint Kenley
Nora Gruber
Xavier Tatarkewiecz
Alex OFlinn
Micheal Bodie
Sound Team
Chris Carrea and
Dagmar Weaver-Madsen
Cris Winger
Original Music/ Composer
Scott Carter for Matraxx
Rashaan Hall, Sandra Lawton
A coming-of-age story about a high school teen who learns to beat her bullies through fight physics with the help of of her favorite math teacher and crush.
Morgan*Megan Sousa
Mr. Govan*Amrahu Ibraheem
Mom*Stephanie Gibson
Shelly*Mariah Goolsby
Hope*Allyssa Di Virgillio
Troof*Nick Ryan
Lori*Chellee Rae
Written and Directed by*Kimberly Townes
Executive Produced by*Delois Townes and Kimberly Townes
Producers
Monica Mallet
Melissa Nemceck
Amrahu Ibraheem
Casting By*Brittany Grooms Casting
Extras
Kayla Edwards
Naeelah Johnson
Marrielle Brown
Marrianna Brown
Kelsey Estes
Steven Martinez
Ashley Gjedde
DeAndre Bridgeforth
Jesse Urquidez
Devon Dawson
Braydon Gonzalez
Zack Gonzalez
Randy Gonzalez Jr.
Kelly Petpertrovch
Jacqueline Hilburn
Emani Morris
DeAndre Chisholm
Emanuel Rivera
Raul Ortega
Tiffany A. Murray
Sherrell Wells
Cory Lovelady
Production Assistants
David Kelly
Keith Hedlund
Steve Damar
Matt Grober
Mia Edwards
Angel VonSumpter
Victor Neumark
Script Supervisors
Katie Hodgkins
Taylor Chen
Colorist *Jake Blackstone
Music*Hannis Brown
Production Design*Karen Glienke
Art Department Assistants
Kevin Mott
Debora Reis-Totten
Wardrobe by Styles Created
Genesis Parker-Davis
Lauren N. Ewing
Lauren N. Woods
Make up by
Edica Cassanova
Amber De La Rosa
Hair
Tamara Greggs
Stunt Coordinator
1st ADs
Diana Densmore
Michael Rohrbaugh
Josephine Greene-Yang
Cinematographers
Jennifer Gittings
1st ACs
Colin Oh
Ben Iker
2nd ACs
Rich Hawk
Max Margolin
Digital Management Technicians
Daye Rogers
Gaffers
Allyson Schwartz
Corrin Hodgsen
Key Grips
Louise Chacon
Alejandro Salinas-Albrecht
Spencer Smith
Ben Goldberg
Conor Bailey
Mykee DelMundo
Sound Mixers
Steven Frazier
Danny Langa
Boom Operator
Jason Meadows
Craft Services provided by
Impeccable Taste Catering
Poem "Sinusoidal Curve" written by Jerome White
Music video sequence inspired by video "SinusoidalCurve" by
Charles Whitman, Christopher Jeansonne, Jerome White, and Adrian Womack
Special Thanks to
St. Mary's Academy
St. Bernard's High School
UCLA Events Office
Kasi McMurray
Niles Ritter
Jeff Ballinger
Delois Townes
Diane Hawkes
Owen Donavan Yarde
Jackie Thornton
Sandra Lawton
Tom Denove
Nancy Richardson
Gyula Gazdag
George Gary
Hal Ackerman
Albert Malvaez
and the Faculty and Staff at UCLA
A viual essayon the Blue Morph installation/ happening at the integratron - New Year's day 2009:
BLUE MORPH is a site-specific interactive installation that uses nanoscale images and sounds derived from the metamorphosis of a chrysalis into a butterfly. Nanotechnology explorations are changing our perceptions of life in the world around us and this is symbolized by the newfound reality of the Blue Morpho butterfly.
HOW IT WORKS: Audience members get immersed in the Blue Morph by sitting down on the responsive mat. Surrounded by blue led lights, they activate the surround audio/ vibrations of metamorphosis.
Installaton by:
Victoria Vesna and James K. Gimzewski
Collaborators:
Gil Kuno
Tal Polany
Blanka Buick
Mui Ling Lam
Shot and Edited by:
The Integratron
UCLA Art Sci Center + Lab
Promotional Video for LA based clothing designer Amrahu M. Ibraheem.
TITLE DESIGN, EDITING, ANIMATION
GAME MASTER:
Hollywood Black Film Festival
Official Selection
Hollywood, U S A
June 2009 (Film Festival)
SFF-rated Athens Intl Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival
Athens, Greece
March 2009 (Film Festival)
Eastern Europe PREMIERE
Asheville International Film Festival
Asheville, U S A
November 2008 (Film Festival)
North America PREMIERE
18th Annual African American Market Place
& S.E. Manly Short Film
Officia Selection
Hollywood, CA
August , 2011 (Film Festival)
BROKEN DOLLS:
18th Annual Pan African Film Festival
Student Fest Selection
Culver City, CA U S A
February 2010 (Film Festival)
PLANTING HOPE:
Congressional Black Caucus Film Series
2011 Annual Legislative Conference
Official Selecton - EDUCATION REFORM
Washington, DC U S A
September 24 (Film Series)
II Taller-encuentro Iberoamericano de Escuelas de Cine en Quito
2 a 13 de mayo de 2011 by INCINE/IBERGENTE.
Quito, Ecuador
South America PREMIERE
(Film Festival)
Time Warner Cable On Demand
Winning Shorts
(Cable On Demand Broadcast)
2011
PRETTY GIRL:
February 2009 -
UCLA - ART|SCI CENTER + LAB
Body Art and Disease Symposium
(Film Series)
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Inspiring Action Filmmaker Grant
2010 - UCLA
Time Warner Cable/ Youtube/ IFC
Online film contest
Official Winner - 2011
ZERO:
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
2009 UCLA Production Grant
Wasserman Production Grant
2009 - UCLA
Felicia Henderson Screenwriting Award
Four Sisters Fellowship in Screenwriting
2008 - UCLA
MPAA Production Grant
2005 UCLA Producton Grant
The 2011 Sloan Film Summit brings to New York the exciting new work of over 100 emerging screenwriters and filmmakers from six film schools, three film festivals and four screenwriting development programs funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Each year over 20 of the best film students at the nation's leading film schools receive screenwriting prizes and production grants ranging from $7,500 - $30,000 for incorporating science and technology into their films. In 2011, a new, annual $50,000 Student Grand Jury Prize was established for the single best script from all six film schools with the goal of shepherding it to production.
Read More>>
18th Annual African American Market Place & S.E. Manly Short Film Showcase:
A GREAT DAY IN BLACK HOLLYWOOD
Honoring:
Actress Hattie Winston (The Lifetime Achievement Award) and Hollywood's Most Talented Makeup and Hair Stylist in Television & Film
When:
October 21, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Where:
Los Angeles Center Studios
1201 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017 (Downtown LA)
Session 2: Education Reform - Friday, September 23rd - 1:30 pm
Room 146-C
Join film directors Tavis Smiley, Kimberly Townes, Michele Stephenson and David Van Taylor, along with experts and special guests at a screening of four dynamic films that challenge the American educational system and offer new solutions to old standards.
Education Reform: A Film Screening Of Planting Hope, A Tale Of Two Schools, An American Promise Tracker & Tavis Smiley Reports: Too Important To Fail On PBS. - 1:30pm - 9/23 _ the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Convention
January 21, 2011 05:40 PM Eastern Time
NEW YORK(EON: Enhanced Online News)Time Warner Cable (NSYE: TWC) today announced that the four winning films of the Time Warner Cable Short Film Contest in association with IFC will be available On Demand at no additional cost to Digital customers beginning Monday, January 24. Customers will be able to watch the short films through the end of February on the Free Movies On Demand channel. The films are also available on Time Warner Cables YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/timewarnercable).
Planting Hope: Pearl Fryars Message of Giving
The winning films are:
From Me to You by Paola Cutri, Los Angeles, CA
Hoodtales by Johnollie Nelson, North Hollywood, CA
March Hare by Allison Esker, Scotia, NY
Planting Hope: Pearl Fryars Message of Giving by Kimberly Townes, Los Angeles, CA
In addition to having their films featured On Demand, each of the winners received a 4-night getaway to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. They will attend the Sundance Channel Brick City Party for their own bit of stardom, and have the chance to take photos with Hollywood industry stars and executives. The prize winners also received $500 spending money, two tickets to a film screening at the festival, a video camera and a one-year subscription to Time Warner Cable Digital Cable and Road Runner high-speed internet services.
Customers can watch the films with their digital remote control by visiting the TWC Short Films category located on the Free Movies On Demand channel. For more information on Time Warner Cable content On Demand, please visit www.twondemand.com.
Follow the winners on Twitter as they tweet updates during the festival:
Paola Cutri _PaolaCutri
Johnollie Nelson _JustJohnollie
Allison Esker _Itsanethos
Kimberly Townes _Starkitty7000
About Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S., with technologically advanced, well-clustered systems located in five geographic areas New York State (including New York City), the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California (including Los Angeles) and Texas. Time Warner Cable serves more than 14.7 million customers who subscribe to one or more of its video, high-speed data and voice services. Time Warner Cable Business Class offers a suite of phone, Internet, Ethernet and cable television services to businesses of all sizes. Time Warner Cable Media Sales, the advertising arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local companies innovative advertising solutions that are targeted and affordable. More information about the services of Time Warner Cable is available at www.timewarnercable.com, www.twcbc.com and www.twcmediasales.com.
By REBECCA JUNG
Published June 5, 2010, 10:56 pm in A&E, Film & TV
Link to Original Article
Though graduation is oncoming, three fourth-year students in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Katrina Frederick, Ian Arthur and Lauren Slusser, are hard at work on a last student film. For film students, graduation can be seen as an end to the comforts of Melnitz Halls soundstages and a beginning to their uncertain futures in the film industry.
Frederick, the writer and director of the film, said that she wanted to squeeze in one more film before graduation.
You never know if its going to be the last film you make that is actually completely yours, Frederick said.
Frederick said she will continue after graduation working with a sound designer she is currently interning for an internship she found through connections formed with her classmates.
Who knows if that will be the end-all be-all, but its something. For now its a job, Frederick said.
Arthur, who is helping on the set of Fredericks film, also said that classmates are a great resource for networking.
The good thing about this school is that it is a very small program, so you get to know everybody really well. Thats what I got from this school, the people that Ive met, my classmates, Arthur said.
Arthur emphasized the importance of connections when talking about his own post-graduation plans.
A lot of the advice or what we are told from the professionals that we meet is that you need talent, but what you need more of is luck and connections, Arthur said.
Slusser, who is also helping on the set of Fredericks film, initially used the film schools website to find an internship one which led to her future internship.
After graduation I am interning at Nickelodeon with Dora the Explorer because my professional goal is to work in childrens television. This is the dream internship for me, Slusser said.
According to UCLA graduate film students, other aspects of the film school have helped start their futures in the industry. Joaquin Baldwin, a graduate film student, expressed the importance of UCLAs location as graduation looms near.
We dont have specific networking events, but being in Los Angeles, it is so easy. You just talk to one of your classmates and they know someone at Sony, someone at DreamWorks, and it is easy to keep in touch, Baldwin said.
Faculty members are another important resource for the job search. For Kimberly Townes, another graduate film student preparing for graduation, being a mentee benefited her.
I would be very fortunate to have faculty mention me to a colleague of theirs as their mentee. And then that colleague would introduce me to someone else, Townes said.
According to Jordan Auten, another graduate film student preparing for commencement on Friday, the film schools structure teaches students an attitude necessary for the industry.
Its our responsibility to be proactive and really approach the outside world. If you are going to be in this industry and choose to pursue this career, thats what its all about anyway, Auten said.
