SVA's Film & Animation Festival Set for This Weekend

Reeves Lehmann, chair of the BFA Film & Video and BFA Animation programs at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), announced today that the 26th Dusty Film & Animation Festival will be held in New York City, today, May 9 through Tuesday, May 12, 2015.

The four-day event will showcase more than 100 films and animations from students graduating this spring. Annie Flocco, independent producer/filmmaker and SVA faculty member, will produce the event. According to Flocco, this year's Headlining Sponsors are AbelCine, Adorama Rental Company, Animation Magazine, B&H Photo, Bryan Singer, Carlos Saldanha/BottleCap Productions, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, Feature Systems/Kits and Expendables, Foto Care, Gotham Sound, IFP, New York Women in Film & Television, Nice Shoes, Nickelodeon, Rota6, SCS Agency, SVA Campus Store, Technicolor PostWorks New York, and Toon Boom Animation. One hundred percent of the sponsors' donations will benefit future students in the form of grants and in-kind gifts.

The 2015 Dusty Festival kicks off with three days of film and animation screenings, and concludes with an awards ceremony on May 12. Fifteen awards-including Outstanding Film and Achievement in Directing, Outstanding Documentary, Outstanding Animated Film, and the New York Women in Film & Television Award-are given to students in recognition for outstanding thesis work. All festival screenings are free and open to the general public and take place at the state-of-the-art SVA Theatre, located at 333 West 23rd Street, NYC. The final list of presenters and special guests will be made public at a later date.

"We are thrilled the Dusty Film & Animation Festival is celebrating its 26th year," says Reeves Lehmann. "We invite everyone to come and discover the next generation of great filmmakers and animators, who we know will entertain and educate audiences near and far."

This year, SVA will present Dusty Outstanding Alumni Awards to producer/director Daniel Minahan (Game of Thrones, True Blood, Marco Polo) and animator Alex Kupershmidt (The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, Frozen), announced Reeves Lehmann and Annie Flocco. The awards will be handed out at the Dusty Awards, Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 6:30pm at the SVA Theatre. "We're tremendously proud of the work that Dan and Alex have done since they got their start at SVA," says Lehmann. "They're also role models for the artistic community in supporting young talent."

The Dusty Film & Animation Festival was established with the mission of introducing films made by students in the BFA Film & Video and BFA Animation programs to a wider audience, and was named after SVA Founder Silas "Dusty" H. Rhodes. "Our festival receives industry-wide recognition and is considered one of the top student film festivals in the country," states Annie Flocco. Filmmakers who got their start at SVA include alumnus and Academy Award nominee Jeremy Dawson (MFA 1993 Photography, Video and Related Media), who produced the Wes Anderson-directed The Grand Budapest Hotel; past BFA Film & Video student Morten Tyldum, Academy Award nominee for Best Director for The Imitation Game; and, Academy Award nominee Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsami (BFA 1998 Illustration), who co-directed The Dam Keeper." BFA Film & Video and BFA Animation alumni have received accolades from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Sundance Film Festival; New Directors/New Films; International Animated Film Festival in Annecy, France; American Film Institute; Women in Film; and the National Board of Review, among many renowned institutions and organizations.

School of Visual Arts has been a leader in the education of artists, designers and creative professionals for more than six decades. With a faculty of distinguished working professionals, dynamic curriculum and an emphasis on critical thinking, SVA is a catalyst for innovation and social responsibility. Comprised of more than 6,000 students at its Manhattan campus and 35,000 alumni in 100 countries, SVA also represents one of the most influential artistic communities in the world.

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