KCET exposes student films
Young filmmakers
receive opportunity to share their works
By Sona Stepanian
Daily Bruin Contributor
Student filmmakers often have a hard time finding places to
screen their work.
But all this week KCET expands student film audiences by airing
the "Fine Cut: Festival of Student Films," a series of films made
by Southern California film students.
Two UCLA film students, Joe Neulight, whose film "The Dent" airs
Wednesday at 10:30 p.m., and Patricia Cardoso, whose film "The
Water Carrier" shows on Thursday at 10:00 p.m., are getting the
opportunity to exhibit their talent and show television audiences
their humorous and personal experiences.
"My film is called ‘The Dent.’ It’s a comedy with a lot of
tension in it," says Neulight. "It’s about a guy who gets
approached at a Hollywood intersection to have the dent on his car
fixed, and mostly because it is a good deal, he decides to go along
with it and winds up getting the ride of his life."
Neulight, who will be graduating from UCLA’s film school this
year, got his initial taste of the art of film making at Dartmouth
college. After attending some time studying in London and Spain, he
finally decided to apply to UCLA’s graduate program.
"I applied because there are no GRE requirements. I wasn’t going
to take the GRE exam," says Neulight with a laugh. "I had no idea
that it was the most competitive graduate program in the country
that year."
Far off in Colombia, Cardoso initially focused her studies on
archeology rather than filmmaking. "What I knew when I first went
to UCLA was I was an archeologist and I knew how to dig holes and
that’s all," says Cardoso. "I’ve made three films while at UCLA and
I’m a film maker now."
Among these three, "The Water Carrier" is Cardoso’s thesis film.
It is a true story about her grandfather – the first doctor in
Colombia to operate on and restore the sight of a blind man
suffering from cataracts.
Both Neulight and Cardoso draw from personal experiences and
both have a lot of confidence in their multi-faceted training at
UCLA.
"You get out of the program what you put into it," says
Neulight. "You get knowledge of many aspects of film,
cinematography, sound, editing and direction of actors."
The hands-on experience involved in financing their films has
also helped them learn about the time-consuming production aspect
of films.
"We had to pay for our own films and that was really hard,"
recalls Cardoso. "But in a way, I learned how to fund raise. I was
forced to work and look for money in different places, which is a
very good tool to have right now."
The four year program at UCLA gives students the chance to work
on short films rather than features. "They don’t let you make
features at UCLA, otherwise people would stay forever," says
Neulight. "People used to, but now they kick you out after four
(years)."
Neulight and Cardoso have different plans for the immediate
future. The independent film scene seems to have attracted
Neulight’s interest whereas Cardoso is already working on a feature
film. But both hope that the knowledge they gained and the contacts
they made throughout their experience at UCLA will prove to be
powerful sources of support.
"You learn a lot from the other students and there is a large
pool of resources to draw from," says Cardoso. "You get the
opportunity to really grow as a person."
FILM SERIES: "The Dent" screens Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. and "The
Water Carrier" shows at Thursday at 10:00 p.m. on KCET. Check local
listings.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu