The Inaugural Yale In Hollywood Fest 2020 Announces Awards

Yale in Hollywood has concluded its inaugural global virtual film festival, Yale in Hollywood Fest, from December 3 to 5, 2020, with a three day line up of features and short films and an esteemed alumnae jury consisting of producer/actress Sara Gilbert, veteran producer Chris Lee, filmmaker Melissa Haizlip and talent manager Ran Aubrey Frazier.

On Saturday December 6 at 5:20 pm, the jury announced the festival's awards via its official Zoom live stream, whose recording will be available on its website http://yihfest.com along with other Q&A recordings:

Best Feature Film: Seaside, directed by Sam Zalutsky

Best Comedy Short Film: "Coffee Shop Names," directed by Deepak Sethi

Best Dramatic Short Film: "On the Whistle," directed by TJ Noel-Sullivan

Best Acting Award: Delilah Napier, Voyeur

Best Cinematography Award: "The Summer of Snakes, directed by Lara Panah-Izadi

Special Jury Award: Voyeur, directed by Delilah Napier and Lucy Powers

Special Jury Award: "The Summer of Snakes," directed by Lara Panah-Izadi

Yale in Hollywood Fest showcases features and short films that include at least one Yale student, alumnus or current staff in the starring, producing, writing or directing chair.

The alumnae jury of 2020 Yale in Hollywood Fest is headed by Chris Lee, veteran producer and founder of University of Hawaii's Academy of Creative Media (ACM). Chris was former president of Tristar Pictures and President of Production at Columbia Pictures.

Sara Gilbert is an American actress, director, and producer known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Ran Aubrey Frazier is a manager at Authentic Talent and Literary Management. An acting student in performing arts schools outside Baltimore, Ran graduated magna cum laude from Yale in Film and Theater Studies, before matriculating at Harvard Law School, where he was the Coordinating Editor, Outreach Editor, and Diversity Chair of the Harvard Law Review.

Melissa Haizlip is an award-winning filmmaker based in New York. Her work responds to pressing social issues at the intersection of racial justice, social justice, activism, and representation. Female transformation and empowerment are at the core of all of her ideas, with the goal being to advocate and amplify the voices of women and people of color. Melissa's feature documentary, Mr. SOUL!, has been awarded a finalist for the 2019 inaugural Library of Congress Lavine / Ken Burns Prize for Film, a new, annual prize that recognizes a filmmaker whose documentary uses original research and compelling narrative to tell stories that touch on some aspect of American history.

Founded and headed by Kevin Winston, Yale in Hollywood is a volunteer run organization based in Los Angeles that connect Yale students and alumni to the entertainment industry. Yale in Hollywood's Social Chair Quentin Lee is the festival director for Yale in Hollywood Fest 2020. Hannah Ruth Earl and Melissa Johnson are short films and features programmers respectively.

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