Chevy Chase

Comedian Chevy Chase and Oscar-nominated actor Ed Harris took turns as guest hosts of the fifth annual Polo Ralph Lauren Columbia University Film Festival last week at the Directors Guild Theatre.

The seven-day event, which has become one of the nation's most eagerly anticipated student film festivals, drew more than 3,000 spectators. Behind the scenes at the festival, Harris enjoyed talking to Dan Kleinman, chair of the film division in the School of the Arts, about game theory (Kleinman's undergraduate degree in mathematics is from Princeton).

Columbia Filmmakers Sweep Student Academy Award Regional Finals

Columbia's film division in the School of the Arts took all three awards in the New York region of the Student Academy Awards in the narrative category. Zen and the Art of Landscaping, Finbar Lebowitz and As Night Falls will be sent to Los Angeles to represent the region in the national finals. These films were chosen from a group of six finalists by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, all of whom were eligible to see the films and vote.

Producer Ed Pressman handed out the awards last week at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and he made note of the fact that all the winners were from Columbia.

Above, Actor Ed Harris, School of the Arts Development Director Erica Marks, Film Division Chair Dan Kleinman and School of the Arts Dean Bruce Ferguson at the Directors Guild.

The Columbia filmmakers, are: Rona Mark, SOA'00, writer-director, and Jennifer Smith, SOA'00, producer, for Finbar Lebowitz; David Kartch, SOA'00, writer-director, for Zen and the Art of Landscaping, and Sabrina Dhawan, SOA'02, writer-director, for Saanjh (As Night Falls).

"Everyone in the film division is delighted by this news," said Dan Kleinman. "The Student Academy Awards is the major student film competition in the United States, and the regional competition is keen among the local film schools. It's quite an honor for Columbia to sweep the top three places."

The national winners will be announced in Los Angeles on June 10.