Visiting Filmmakers program receives grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
May 23, 2011— Columbus, OH—The Wexner Center’s Visiting Filmmakers series has received a $5,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, marking the second consecutive year that the series has received this recognition from the Academy. Notes Shawn Guthrie, grants coordinator for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, “The Wexner Center’s popular Visiting Filmmaker program is notable for fostering an interest in film in Columbus and the Midwest, and for bringing a wide range of directors to the university community and the greater public. We’re pleased to endorse it with this grant.”The Visiting Filmmakers series, overseen by the Wexner Center’s Film/Video curatorial staff, has been ongoing since the center’s inception in 1989. It features national and international filmmakers at all stages of their careers, introducing and discussing their work with film critics, curators, and audiences. Over the years, Visiting Filmmakers have included Jim Jarmusch, Peter Bogdanovich, Allison Anders, Claire Denis, Richard Linklater, Kelly Reichardt, Gus Van Sant, Miloš Forman, Christine Vachon, Todd Haynes, D.A. Pennebaker, Olivier Assayas, Isaac Julien, Tom Kalin, and many others. Often, their appearances are held in conjunction with a retrospective series of their films, along with an accompanying commemorative booklet produced by the Wexner Center.
Recent Visiting Filmmakers have included Tamra Davis, Joe Dante, Ira Sachs, Matt Groening, Serge Bromberg, Erin Cosgrove, Sam Green, Ben Russell, Rajko Grlic, and Jay Rosenblatt. Canadian director Guy Maddin will likely be in Columbus later this year to introduce his latest feature film, Keyhole, starring Isabella Rossellini and Jason Patric and supported by a Wexner Center Residency Award.
The center’s Film/Video department screens films year-round, presenting a rich mix of new and independent films from around the globe, alongside classic works from the film canon. It has been a recipient of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture’s Outstanding Organization Award. In addition to the flagship single-screen Film/Video Theater located inside the Wexner Center, the film staff curates one screen at the Gateway Film Center just a few blocks down High Street from the Wexner Center, as well as The Box video space inside the Wex, which features short video projects changing monthly. The Film/Video department also includes the Film/Video Studio Program, a post-production video and sound editing suite, located within the center and used by artists from all over the world.
More information on the Wexner Center: wexarts.org. More information on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: oscars.org.
