June, 2019 | VCFA MFA in Film Blog

Filmwax Radio Interview Series: VCFA Alumnx Jason Rosenfield

June 27, 2019/in Documentary, Fiction, Interviews /by Aja Zoecklein

VCFA is proud to be partnering with Filmwax Radio for a special series of interviews featuring VCFA alumni. The third installment of the series is with editor Jason Rosenfield ACE (’18) whose projects include, among many, the documentaries LOST FOR LIFE (2013), SWIFT CURRENT (2016), and BREAKING POINT: THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE (2017), as well as the Amazon docuseries LORENA (2019). In the interview Jason also discusses his VCFA thesis project, Everything Matters, a memoir about editing and his journey over the decades in the profession. [Jason’s rich and captivating memoir will–without a doubt!–be published sometime in the near future with broad appeal for filmmakers and general readers alike. Stay tuned for more news on that front!]

Be sure to have a listen–enjoy!

The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play & Youtube.

You are writing the final draft, in essence. It all happens in the editing room… It is a huge responsibility and you have to honor that responsibility.
-Jason Rosenfield, on editing

What I am talking about is making an experiential film, as opposed to an informational film. The goal is to have the audience go on a journey with the characters… not relaying information, but reliving an experience… I learned how to speak body language, and if I knew how to speak it, I knew how to read it…
-Jason Rosenfield, on character driven documentaries

Jason Rosenfield, ACE, is a three-time Emmy Award-winning film editor recognized for his storytelling and stylistic skills in character-driven long-form documentaries, feature films, and television series. Jason’s narrative credits range from Robert Altman’s classic COME BACK TO THE 5 & DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN to the improvisational television comedy FREE RIDE. His documentary credits include the Oscar-nominated BLUES HIGHWAY, HBO’s Emmy-winning Memphis PD and Teen Killers, Dick Wolf’s groundbreaking NBC series Law & Order: Crime & Punishment and CNN’s The Seventies. He has collaborated with three-time Oscar-winner Mark Jonathan Harris on Netflix’s award-winning LOST FOR LIFE and SWIFT CURRENT, both directed by Joshua Rofe, and Harris’s own BREAKING POINT: THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE. Additional production awards have included an RF Kennedy Award, DGA Award and Peabody Award, as well as three Emmy Awards and multiple nominations.

In 2001, Jason was elected to membership in American Cinema Editors [ACE], an honorary society of distinguished editors. He has served as Associate Director of the ACE Board and three terms as Governor of the Television Academy, where he has developed and produced a number of symposiums and ongoing panel series. A Professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts Masters Program as well as Columbia College – Hollywood, Jason is a Mentor at the Stowe (Vt.) Story Labs Screenwriting Workshop and serves as story and editorial consultant for independent films.

Film faculty Till Schauder receives competitive 2019 Seoul Film Commission grant!

June 18, 2019/in Fiction, News, Script /by Aja Zoecklein

VCFA film faculty Till Schauder recently received a competitive Seoul Screenplay Development grant from the Seoul Film Commission for his feature script ALMOST 14. The project, a film mostly set in Korea, will be on a nice trajectory for production with the help of this exciting grant award.

More about the Seoul Screenplay Development Support program:

The Seoul Screenplay Development Support program is not intended to provide support to Korean films. The goal of the program is to support the development of “overseas” projects that are set in Seoul but target foreign markets.

This year, due to the increase in the number of submissions as well as in the variety of countries from which the applicants hail, a great deal of time and impassioned discussions went into the judges making their final selections. The utmost importance was placed on projects that would be difficult to produce if they were not filmed in Korea, and projects that were deemed to be able to enhance the image of Seoul were preferentially chosen with due consideration of their quality.

Congrats Till! We look forward to seeing ALMOST 14 come to life!

Till Schauder is a Brooklyn-based writer, director, and cinematographer. His films have premiered at major film festivals around the world including Tribeca, Berlin, and Tokyo, and are funded through grants, partnerships and co-productions with organizations like the Sundance Documentary Institute, Fork Films, The Catapult Film Fund, The Jerome Foundation, NYSCA, Film und Medienstiftung NRW, FFA/German Federal Film Board, ITVS, ARD, ZDF, ARTE and many others. His films include: SANTA SMOKES, THE IRAN JOB, WHEN GOD SLEEPS, WARRIORS OF FAITH (GLAUBENSKRIEGER), and REGGAE BOYZ. In addition to teaching at VCFA, Schauder teaches film at NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and is a frequent guest speaker at other film schools.

Alumnx Spotlight: Martin Castañeda (’16)

June 6, 2019/in Fiction, News /by Aja Zoecklein

VCFA’s MFA in Film alumnx Martín Castañeda has recently been hired as a full-time visiting professor at New Mexico Highlands University in the Media Arts Department starting August 2019. Castañeda has been teaching as adjunct faculty in film at the Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) for the past 2 years. In addition to his teaching, Castañeda has been working on commercials and several smaller productions as Assistant Production Coordinator.

In 2018, Castañeda directed the short BAD SITUATION (written by Leon Gaitanis), with a crew entirely composed of CNM students. BAD SITUATION has seen some fantastic festival action this year, including: official selection in 5 festivals in NM, Canada, LA, and TN (so far!); nominations for Best Actor, Screenwriting ,and Original Idea; the “Platinum Award: Best New Mexico Short” at Mindfield Film Festival in NM; Semi-Finalist at Los Angeles CineFest; and winner in its category at New Mexico Filmmakers Showcase 2019.

We caught-up with Martín and asked him a few questions about the project:

The synopsis of BAD SITUATION reads, “a final discussion with death.” Can you share a bit more about the tone and tenor of the film?

The film is about Jack, a self recluse in the middle of nowhere that receives an unexpected visitor. Jack knows who this is: death finally coming for him. He’s been expecting it, but what he doesn’t know is death first wants to go over some uncomfortable loose ends about his past before deciding his fate.

Your crew was comprised of CNM students, were there any unforeseen challenges that you noted when working on this project with them? Do you find you have to work harder as a director when you have a greener crew?

I had to constantly remind myself that it was a film executed by students in their first term of school, and as such, I couldn’t just jump in and intervene to get what I had in mind. I had to really let go and let them do everything. This is something I learned at VCFA in my third semester when I worked on ABOUT BARBARA, a film developed mostly by the actors during a month long laboratory. On BAD SITUATION, I had a couple of students coming from working in theater, so their previous skills really shined through in the film’s set dressing and wardrobe.

I actually never expected much life beyond the classroom environment for BAD SITUATION. It was Scot, one of the actors, that asked if he could send it to festivals, and the result really surprised me! It’s ironic, I would make an expensive film and no one seemed interested, but this one, made with zero budget (besides school equipment and facilities of course), was picked up by everyone around here.

What elements of filmmaking do you most enjoy teaching and why?

Teaching is a passion I discovered while chasing my first passion: filmmaking. What I enjoy the most is the second half of the term when the students have gone through learning the technical and technological elements and it’s time for them to apply it all to their creativity. That’s when I become less of a professor and more of a supervisor and advisor.

To see more of Martín’s work, find him on vimeo!

Martín Castañeda is US-Peru dual citizen filmmaker. He’s worked in advertisement, teaching, as in-house videographer for institutions and writing, acting, directing and editing films. He received his MFA in Film degree in April 2016.

His feature length screenplay WRITTEN BY VICTORS won a Royal Reel 2016 Award at the Canada International Film Festival and was officially selected at the Berlin Film Fest International 2016. His short film BOX won Best Experimental Film at the 2015 Oregon International Film Awards, and his latest short JOAN IN OWL LAND was officially selected at the Vermont International Film Festival 2016 and ITVfest 2016.