Cornellians win big at student Emmy Awards

Alex Harrald '07 portrays a Broadway wannabe in Reed VanDyk's "The Conservatory."

Alex Krivicich '08 and two alumni – Reed VanDyk '07 and Justin Lerner '02 – earned top honors at the 29th annual College Television Emmy Awards ceremony, held March 15 in Los Angeles.

VanDyk won first prize and a $2,000 cash award in the comedy category for "The Conservatory," which he produced and directed in the Advanced Filmmaking class at Cornell last spring. A theater major, VanDyk took several film production classes while at Cornell. A mock documentary, "The Conservatory" concerns a fictional performing arts academy, the students aspiring to be accepted and excel there, and an array of dedicated but pretentious instructors.

"For only the second time in the 29-year history of the festival, a school other than USC [University of Southern California], UCLA [University of California-Los Angeles], NYU [New York University] or Florida State has won the comedy competition," said Steve Gordon, screening event producer for the awards. "It really is a remarkable feat."

Actors Reed VanDyk '07 and Christine Bullen '08 in a scene from VanDyk's College Television Emmy Award-winning comedy, "The Conservatory," produced during a spring 2007 Advanced Filmmaking class.

Krivicich won a Producers' Choice Award for "Mr. Popcorn," a computer-animated film he created in a fall 2007 Intermediate Filmmaking Projects course at Cornell. This spring, Krivicich is working on two more episodes of "Mr. Popcorn." He is a College Scholar and film major.

Lerner, who also was a theater and film major, won the Best Director award as well as second prize in the drama category for his UCLA graduate thesis film, "The Replacement Child."

"Justin Lerner will become a big-time director, and lots of good is in store for Alex," Gordon said.

This is the first year Cornell students have entered the College Television Emmy Awards competition, which rewards excellence in student-produced videos and films. The awards recognize the achievements of both undergraduate and graduate student filmmakers.

To view excerpts of the winning entries, along with other Cornell student films, visit http://www.arts.cornell.edu/film.

 

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