As Priscillia Omon sat in a songwriting class listening to her classmates’ breakup compositions, one piece suddenly caught her attention. The song “Who Cares” was written by fourth-year ethnomusicology student Alan McDonnell over winter break back home in Chile. Omon, a third-year ethnomusicology student, said from the first time she heard it, she wanted to […]
Author Archives: William Thorne
Movie Review: ‘Slow West’
As far as coming-of-age journeys go, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish’s odyssey from the windy highlands of Scotland to the barren plains of Wild West America has to rank as one of the bleakest and most unlikely. In “Slow West,” director John Maclean focuses on life’s harsh realities on the American frontier in the 19th century. He […]
ColCoa French Film Festival Reviews: Top-five favorites
The ColCoa French Film Festival, now in its 19th year, gives the City of Angels a glimpse into the film work of the City of Lights. The festival represents a cultural exchange between Paris and Los Angeles and aims to promote cross-cultural communication while also giving talent recognition in Hollywood. The 2015 series featured Academy […]
Movie review: ‘Child 44’
“Child 44” is a melting pot of a film in which director Daniel Espinosa throws a dollop of murder mystery, a soupçon of spy thriller, a pinch of political drama and to top it off, a generous dose of gut-wrenching action. The result is a movie which thrills and shocks while keeping the audience engrossed […]
UCLA Film and Television Archive screens Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s movies
Among the cognoscenti of the international film festival circuit, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien is a household name. From his signature long takes to minute attention to detail, Hou’s techniques seem to have garnered him admirers and imitators across world cinema. Continuing its 50th anniversary celebration, the UCLA Film and Television Archive will showcase a retrospective […]
Student creates video-sharing app with limited view system ShuutMe
Over the course of six months, Ryan Trihernawan spent more than 1,000 hours sitting in front of his computer, his eyes straining, his fingers aching from typing ceaseless lines of code. He said he hoped that one day, the letters and numbers would perfectly align to form the project that he had envisioned. The result: […]
‘Dancing Asia Minor’ to exhibit countries’ diverse cultural expressions
The buzuq twangs, the tapan beats and Sevi Bayraktar lets out a joyous zilgit that pierces the air. The zilgit, a shrill Kurdish cry, expresses the feelings of the female dancers of Asia Minor. A group of UCLA students will perform “Dancing Asia Minor,” as part of the Fowler Out Loud series, in the Fowler […]