News

Tenth Annual Roif Award in Film Studies

The Tenth Annual Michael S. Roif Award in Film Studies was presented in May to undergraduate certificate students in the Interdepartmental Program in Film Studies. First place went to Mariel Adams ’12 (psychology) who was director, cinematographer and editor of the documentary “Without Regard.” Jeromie Whalen ’10 (history) won second place for the documentary “Purgatory: Historical Analysis of the Belchertown State Schools” (producer/co-director/editor/co-cinematographer).

These students, nominated by University Film Studies faculty, benefit both from the substantial cash prize and the official recognition of their achievements. The Roif family’s generous gift in memory of their son, Michael ’83, who loved film and the arts, honors excellence and creativity by the University’s undergraduate certificate students in areas of film and video production such as screenwriting, direction, production, and cinematography or in cinema scholarship. The award enhances the aspirations and achievements of winners selected from among more than 250 certificate students enrolled annually in the University’s Film Studies Program, many of whom intend to pursue filmmaking or film studies professionally after graduation.

Also nominated were:
Adrian Atwood ’11 (communication): “The Sweet Smell of Success and The Exiles: Noir and Neo-Realist Cinematography of the Urban Landscape,” essay
Jesse Barack ’10 (communication): “Surprise!” narrative video (co-director/actor)
Molly Bettancourt ’10 (communication): “Paris je T’aime: The Cinematic Expression of Parent-Child Relationships in the City of Love” (essay)
Emily Felder ’12 (anthropology): “Sweet Baby Lou & the Reverends of Funk,” documentary (writer/director/cinematographer/editor)
Kyle Lampe ’10 (theater/BDIC-film): “Missing,” screenplay
Ben Leonberg ’10 (communication): “Two Men Drowning in Quicksand,” narrative video (writer/director/cinematographer/editor) and “Poor Maori Boy Vampire vs. Drug-Taking Zombies or PMBV vs. DTZ,” narrative video (writer/director/producer/editor)
Abigail McCann ’11 (communication): “The Demise of Dexter Morgan,” teleplay
Allison Mulvey ’12 (comparative literature, Commonwealth Honors College): “The Presentation of Migration,” essay

May 10, 2010