Program News

Vol. 23 - Spring 2026

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Vol. 22 - Fall 2025

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Vol. 16 - November 2023

Vol. 15 - October 2023

2026

April 2026 - Dual Milestones Hit - Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Stony Brook Film MFA and 30th Anniversary of Christine Vachon's Killer Films

Film industry dignitaries and the greater Stony Brook University community recently gathered at the Stony Brook Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Stony Brook MFA in Film program alongside MFA Artistic Director Christine Vachon, co-founder of Killer Films, on the legendary independent production company’s 30th anniversary.

February 2026 - SBU Alumni Ethan Scarduzio Directs Super Bowl Commercial

Stony Brook University alumni, Ethan Alexis Scarduzio directed a Pepsi advertisement that aired during Super Bowl LX on February 9.

Throughout the Seattle Seahawks' 29-13 championship victory over the New England Patriots, a series of ads featuring CGI polar bears in a skybox drinking Pepsi aired both during the broadcast, as well as on social media, and shared by Framestore, DeuxMoi, Puberty and Pepsi. The ad saw the polar bears hyping up the crowd after they were caught on the jumbotron.

“Directing this very quick, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, five-second spot for the Super Bowl was a blast, and was my first foray into working on a VFX heavy shoot,” Scarduzio said.

Scarduzio (Class of 2017) has forged himself a steady career in the commercial production space. Per his website, Scarduzio has collaborated with prominent athletes such as Aaron Judge, Saquon Barkley and Candace Parker and worked with brands such as Frito-Lay, Carnival Cruise Line and Angry Orchard Hard Cider. Since 2018, Scarduzio has worked for PepsiCo as a video director, writer, editor and producer for their in-house content studio.

During his time in Stony Brook University’s MFA film program, Scarduzio was on the directing track and served as a teacher’s assistant.

— Issack Cintrón

February 2026 - MFA in Film Alum Vu Nguyen Hoang Presents at Southeast Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities

Vietnamese Fulbright Scholar and Stony Brook Film MFA Alumni Vu Nguyen Hoang just gave a presentation at the Southeast Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities. The topic was about the Twitter-based screenwriting method he developed during the Teaching Practicum with Karen Offitzer at SBU two years ago. Vu writes, “ I wanted to thank especially Karen for igniting the pedagogical passion in me. Learning to teach and then teaching at SBU was a defining experience that shaped the path I’m pursuing right now, making me realize my life purpose as an enabler of future creatives.”

Vu is now an associate lecturer at RMIT. His screenplays and pilots have placed well in many contests, including the 41st international Short Film competition at the Berlinale, Winner, Script Pitch Competition. His research proposal also made it to the upcoming Comparative Screenwriting Teaching Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

January 2026 - Margarita Mina Earns National Recognition for Short Film ‘Baby Fat’

Margarita Mina, a third-year MFA in Film student on the directing track, was recently named one of 17 recipients of the National Board of Review Student Grant for 2025.

Her short film Baby Fat was also selected by Rolling Stone Philippines as one of its '21 Best Filipino Films of 2025.'

“I was pleasantly surprised that being a Filipino, and my very Filipino film, could touch people of different ethnicities who also feel the same way,” Mina said.

Directed during her first year in the program, Baby Fat follows a stocky Filipino-American tween who accidentally spills ketchup on a family heirloom dress. That accidental spill turns into an exploration of girlhood, body image and cultural identity.

2025

August 4, 2025 - Killer Films Reflects on 30 Years of Filmmaking

Artistic Director Christine Vachon opens up about her 30 years of filmmaking with producing partner, Pamela Koffler.

Read their interview about their upcoming Metrograph series on Time Out.

Read their interview about Materialists and their 30th celebration on Variety.

July 10, 2025 - Christine Vachon Talks About Cynism and AI in the Industry

Artistic Director Christine Vachon spoke at the Galway Film Fleadh about working with new talent and why it is the lifeblood of the film industry to this day.

Read on for the full interview on Screen Daily.

June 23, 2025 - Alumni Peggy Tseng Showcases Thesis Feature at Tribeca Creators Market

SBU Alumni Peggy Tserwen Tseng and her producing partner, Sheng-Ting Shen, attended the Tribeca Creators Market on June 10 to pitch and showcase Tseng’s feature film, Miss Mermaid, which was made for her MFA thesis.

“It is wonderful to see our alumni pitching their films, collaborating and receiving feedback, and getting into New York City festivals with their creative work from our program,” MFA in Film Executive Director Magdalene Brandeis said. “Miss Mermaid is a beautiful and powerful story and we cannot wait to see where it takes Peggy.”

Both Tseng and Shen were able to network with industry professionals at the invite-only event, and they look forward to finishing this project together.

Miss Mermaid follows May, an ambitious law school student in Taipei City, who gets a phone call from a hospital in New York City saying that her sister is in critical condition. Unwilling to involve her distanced mother, May flies to New York on her own and finds out that her sister is in a coma and just had a premature baby. After getting in touch with her sister’s previous roommate and boyfriend, May slowly realizes that her sister has an entire life that she doesn’t know about.

Read more about the Creators Market here.

June 4, 2025 - Stony Brook University’s MFA in Film Program Celebrates 10 Years of Collaboration with Killer Films

Stony Brook's MFA in Film is delighted to celebrate 10 years in academic partnership with Killer Films. This anniversary also coincides with Killer Films' co-founders Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler's 30th anniversary as an indie production company. CV, MB, SP, PK

“Every year the MFA in Film students learn directly from our Artistic Director, indie legend Christine Vachon. Like all of our professors, Christine brings the industry into the classroom, so that our program functions like an indie production office in addition to two story-driven Masters of Fine Arts degrees, in Film and TV Writing in New York City,” said Magdalene Brandeis, Executive Director of the Lichtenstein Center. “It is a one of a kind partnership that will continue to provide an indie alternative to traditional filmmaking here in the city."

Southampton Playhouse will be honoring Christine and Pam on June 27 with a talk, and a screening of the trailer of student thesis film Something You Should Know About Me by filmmaker Andy Fidoten. This feature film, currently in post production, is Executive Produced by Lily Wachowski and her company Anarchists United. A screening of Killer Films movie, Velvet Goldmine will close out the event program. Andy Fidoten with Christine Vachon

“Andy’s film is funny and sexy and daring and cutting edge— it exudes what our students learn from our affiliation with Killer Films,” Brandeis said. “We celebrate our ten years with Killer Films, and look forward to championing more future generations of filmmakers.”

For tickets to the Southampton Playhouse event on June 27, visit their website.

Read on for more information on Stony Brook’s MFA in Film.

March 24, 2025 - Film Alumni Work on Feature “Ugly Ducklings” in Goshen, New York

“Ugly Ducklings," a new feature film, is currently being filmed in Goshen, NY with a group of Stony Brook alumni in collaboration with staff from SideSwipe Media and crew from Troma Entertainment. SBU Alumni On Set

Co-written by alums Conor Demmett and Grant Herson, and directed by Herson, the story is about a wealthy cosmetics magnate, Kathleen, who invites her so-called friends, family and a few employees to her secluded mansion for a party and to try out a new cosmetic procedure that will make them all "beautiful.” All are unaware of the revenge plot

that Kathleen has in the works and the true nature of the injections. Produced by SideSwipe Media, this 12-character ensemble piece contains extensive special and practical effects.

The 2019 MFA in Film cohort, unwittingly participating in film school during the lockdown of the COVID pandemic, formed fierce creative bonds that have continued, post graduation.

Other alumni currently working on the film include Charlie Desjardin as the Director of Photography, Stony Brook Undergrad Film Minor student Kim Dallas as the First Assistant Camera, Grace Owen as the Production Designer, and Lisa Thomas as the Line Producer.

Thomas said about working on the production, "It has been an amazing experience working for SideSwipe Media. It's not everyday you get to live in a mansion with your crew and create art. The production team on the project has really gelled as a result and I'm excited to say that I'm in discussion about future projects with SideSwipe, Herson and Desjardin." Ugly Duckling BTS

“As our MFA in Film enters its 10th year, its alumni’s collaborative work is reaching critical mass,” said Magdalene Brandeis, Executive Director in Stony Brook Programs in Film & TV Writing after visiting the set in Goshen on Saturday. “I had to tamp down how proud I felt witnessing the quiet high-functioning of this very well put together set.”

Ugly Ducklings is yet another stepping stone for Herson. While he was still a student in the MFA program, he participated in an internship at Lloyd Kaufman’s Troma Entertainment, editing trailers and serving as second colorist. He pitched “CaterKillar” to Kaufman, which became a micro budget feature, produced in tandem with Stony Brook University as his thesis in Fall 2023. CaterKillar will be opening soon at the Museum of Moving Image. Herson next worked at SideSwipe, shining at producing sketch comedy videos and webseries, which led SideSwipe Media to recognize him as the helmer which would lead them into producing longer form content.

Herson said about the opportunity to write/direct Ugly Ducklings, “Everyone here is participating because they want to make art and collaborate. Many of us working on the project grew up watching B horror movies and have a real love for the genre and the DIY approach that comes with it.

Herson and Demmett are also developing a feature titled “Johnny Spaceman,” with another alumni, Zach Phillips who has been producing for Jon Stewart.

March 3, 2025 -Faculty Simone Pero’s “LILLY” Gets Theatre Premiere Date from Blue Harbor Entertainment

Producing Track faculty Simone Pero’s film, “LILLY” has secured an upcoming theatrical release, starting on May 9, 2025.

The drama feature premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival, and has screened at other film festivals across the country. It was designated “Best in Fest” at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival and awarded the “Stand-Up Award” by the Anti-Defamation League at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

“Bringing stories of historical and social significance to the fore has never been more urgent,” Pero said. “I’m honored that Lilly Ledbetter’s story will be seen on the big screen, and I am glad my students this semester get a first hand case study of the LILLY in the marketplace.” Patricia Clarkson as Lilly

“LILLY” is based on the true story of working-class hero Lilly Ledbetter, starring Patricia Clarkson as the titular character. Ledbetter, a real life Alabama tire factory supervisor who aspired to lift her family into the middle class after having grown up in poverty, endures a work environment plagued by pervasive harassment for the sake of the best paycheck in the county.

As she looks to retire, Lilly discovers that the system has been cheating her, paying her close to half of what the men with the same jobs were earning. Outraged, she fights this injustice to the Supreme Court, the corridors of Congress and eventually The White House, all the while powerful forces try to shut her down.

2024

Killer Films’ “A Different Man” Wins Best Feature at 2024 Gotham Awards

December 5, 2024 - With awards season in full swing, Killer Films’ “A Different Man” was named Best Feature at the Gotham Independent Film Awards on December 2. The win makes it two consecutive years that a Killer Films production has taken home the honor, with “Past Lives” having done so in 2023. Additionally, actor Adam Pearson received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Performance.

“A Different Man’s” fall release was the focus of this semester’s Master Class in Independent Production, led by Christine Vachon, Killer Films co-founder and Stony Brook’s Film & TV Writing MFA’s Artistic Director. Vachon facilitated a screening of the film to start the semester, followed by a series of conversations with individuals behind the production. This included Aaron Schimberg, the film’s director, followed by A24, the film’s distributor, and then Schimberg’s manager.

Each guest chatted with Christine about the making of the film or its distribution or prepping a director for its release, and then the students were able to ask them questions directly. “The timing couldn’t have been better. I was proud to have a movie like A Different Man and an accessible and brilliant director like Aaron Schimberg be our filmmaker’s introduction to master’s study with us,”said Magdalene Brandeis, Executive Director of the Graduate Programs in Film & TV Writing.

“It was such an exciting and precious opportunity,” said Dalton Snider-Smith, a first-year MFA film student. “Not only were we able to ask him questions personally, but he was able to provide us with a lot of foresight and kind of help us shape our own ideas about where we want to go in the industry and what steps we can take to get there.”

New admissions for Fall 2025 have begun. The Scholarship Deadline is January 15, 2025.

Alumna Peggy Tserwen Tseng Profiled on Bold Journey

Peggy Tseng shared her personal journey into filmmaking, shooting her first feature in 2023.

To read her profile, check out Bold Journey.

Producing Faculty Simone Pero Sends Two Major Projects To Premieres This Fall

The Pero-produced LILLY film, is having its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival. LILLY tells the story about fair-pay icon Lilly Ledbetter. It stars Patricia Clarkson as the titular character, along with Thomas Sadoski and John Benjamin Hickey.

Additionally, at this year's 25th anniversary Woodstock Film Festival, documentary VIVA VERDI! premieres, directed by Yvonne Russo. Stony Brook's Simone Pero served as the film's Executive Producer.

For more information on LILLY, read about the premiere on the Hamptons Film Fest Guide.

For more on VIVA VERDI!, check out the Woodstock Film Festivals page.

Faculty Member Jennie Allen Begins Filming on "111"

Jennie Allen co-wrote '111', a film which traces the stories of characters affected by the Swissair flight 111 crash, which happened off the coast of Nova Scotia, near the entrance of Margaret’s Bay, on September 2, 1998.

Principal photography started on September 18 in Halifax and will shoot in Nova Scotia, Zurich, and nearby regions until the end of October.

To learn more about the project, read more on Variety.

MFA Thesis Students Makes Program History by Filming in Puerto Rico

Director Yarilis Ramos and producer Nnamdi Nwosa filmed their project, "Mulata," on the island of Puerto Rico. This project also breaks ground as the first full-Spanish period piece for our program, which explores the story of Puerto Rico’s early mixed-race children. Yarilis-Nnamdi-working

"Mulata" is a short film developed as a final thesis in Stony Brook's MFA in Film. It is about the first mixed-race children, telling the story of a young girl torn between her Spanish upbringing and her African roots, whose discovery of La Bomba dance forever changes her life.

"Our mission is to bring light a hidden part of Puerto Rican history: the life and death of the mulatos. By showcasing their sturggle to hold onto their roots, we aim to empower Puerto Ricans to embrace their cultural identity, regardless of their skin color," said Ramos.

Yarilis Ramos is a scholarship recipient and native Puerto Rican who entered the program as the youngest in her class and has discovered a passion for telling hidden stories. Nnamdi Nwosa, a New Yorker of Nigerian descent, is a stuntman and family man preparing for the next steps in his career.

To learn more about this film visit their social media @mulata.film.pr.

MFA Students Get Sneak Peek at "A Different Man"

This semester, Stony Brook's Film & TV Writing MFA Artistic Director Christine Vachon launched the Master Class in Independent Film Production with the scr

eening of writer/director Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man, starring Sebastian Stan, Renata Reinsve, and Adam Pearson.

The film will be released theatrically on September 20. Vachon is the film's producer.

We screened a sneak preview of the movie the first week, chatted with Vachon and director Aaron Schimberg the second week, and, an executive from A24, the film's studio, will be Christine's guest in the third week. In addition, students will get to read versions of the script and study the redacted budget.

Classmates have commented on how cohesive and global the view of the project has been.

Watch the Trailer.

‘Past Lives’ Earns Killer Films Best Feature at Independent Spirit Awards

Killer Films had a huge night at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 25, where the producers of Past Lives won the coveted Best Feature, and Celine Song won Best Director. Samy Burch also won Best First Screenplay for May December. Both films tied each other for most nominations at the ceremony, along with competitor American Fiction.

The Artistic Director of Stony Brook’s MFA in Film and TV Writing Program is co-founder of Killer Films

After 30 years of producing 129 films and pioneering queer, independent cinema, producer Christine Vachon — Artistic Director for the Stony Brook University MFA in Film and Television Writing program — was nominated for her first Academy Award for the film Past Lives in the Best Picture category.

2023

Killer Films Lead 2024 Independent Spirit Awards with 10 Nominations for “May December” and “Past Lives”

December 6, 2023 - Stony Brook University MFA in Film’s Artistic Director Christine Vachon has two films with five nominations apiece for the Independent Spirit Awards. Both “May December” and “Past Lives” are up for Best Feature.

“Our students get a particularly unique view of the industry by witnessing the development of these projects in class, from their development, financing, production, post and festival runs— they see it all,” says MFA Program Executive Director, Magdalene Brandeis.

May-December Past-Lives-A24

Other nominations from May December and Past Lives include Greta Lee, Natalie Portman and Teo Yoo for best leading performance,Todd Haynes and Celine Song for best director, Celine Song for best screenplay, and Samy Burch for best first screenplay. Charles Melton is also nominated for best supporting performance for May December.

Killer’s awards sweep is widespread—with New York Film Critics Circle also awarding Best Supporting Actor to Charles Melton and Best Screenplay to first-timer Samy Burch, in May December, in addition to Best First Film for Past Lives.

Additionally, Sundance announced its long-awaited program today, which includes Killer’s A Different Man written and directed by Aaron Schinberg and starring Sebastian Stan. A-Different-Man

As Artistic Director, Vachon was also on the October cover of The Wrap Top Film Schools Issue, where she discussed what she brings to bear at Stony Brook’s MFA in Film & TV Writing, including working with first-time directors, and the changing face of the entertainment industry.

Killer Films is celebrating 30 years of making films this year, putting their signature touch on more than 100 films.

Students-CV

Christine Vachon pictured here at Lincoln Center in October ‘23, on the occasion of the screening of Stony Brook’s first year films.

Award-Winning Alumna Returns from Korea to Direct New Feature Film

October 1, 2023—Award-winning Stony Brook Manhattan Film Graduate alumna, Juhyoung Ra (‘17) returns to direct a new feature film with fellow alumni James Sharpe (‘18) and Amy Gaipa (‘21). JuhyoungRa 2017 Grad

Ra is the recipient of the 2023 Independent Art: Feature Film Production Support Project by the Korean Film Council. Upon submitting a package which included a screenplay, an application for production funds, a plan of action, as well as the budget of her film SONGBIRD, Ms. Ra was awarded this prestigious and competitive grant, edging out other project submissions.

Juhyoung’s first feature film, ATLANTIC CITY, was made while pursuing her MFA in Directing at Stony Brook’s Manhattan Center, now part of the Lichtenstein Center. Ra discovered that New York City is where her imagination is unleashed, since the city itself is an incredible character and backdrop. “In the very first semester of the Master Class with Christine Vachon, Ms. Ra pitched this moving and original idea—about the family of the members of the immigrant community who ended up handing out leaflets in Times Square in fuzzy cartoon character costumes.

A few years later, ATLANTIC CITY had its World Premiere Screening at Jeonju International Film Festival, one of the top two International Film Festivals in Korea,” Executive Director Magdalene Brandeis said. The film has held a total of more than 10 theatrical screenings, including at the Tours International Asian Film Festival in France. Atlantic City Poster

SONGBIRD is a story about resolving the conflict surrounding adoption and regaining true family love through music. It follows the protagonist, Gina, from Korea to the United States, where she learns that family is more than just blood relations, because a chosen family starts to present itself as she continues the search for her sister. The film also illustrates and weaves in the fact that Korea is the number one country for adoption—securing placement of children with new families in the United States and elsewhere. Ms. Ra educates her audience as to what those children face and aims to give the community of those adopted a voice and presence through the characters in this film.

SONGBIRD is being co-produced by IDÉE FIX FILMS from Korea and GNBC from Queens, New York. Ms. Ra has teamed up with fellow SB film alumni, producers Amy Gaipa and James Sharpe; all three were members of the inaugural cohort of the Stony Brook MFA Film Program. Ms. Gaipa and Mr. Sharpe will be bridging the gap between the two production companies and countries on this production and helping to coordinate the 23-day leg of this film in metropolitan New York and at Stony Brook’s Southampton campus on Long Island. Juhyoung Zoom Meeting

For more information about our Graduate MFAs and Undergraduate Minors in Film or TV Writing, please contact us at MFAManhattan@stonybrook.edu

Film Thesis Director Pioneers first University/Production Company Co-Production

Grant Herson Photo Stony Brook Lichtenstein Center, Manhattan, September 30, 2023 —Directing Thesis student Grant Herson, who has been making films outside the box since his 2019 arrival at Stony Brook’s MFA in Film, will be the first thesis director to make a feature film under contract with a production company.

The collaboration emerged out of an internship Grant held with Troma Entertainment, Inc., when, after getting to know the company and their projects, he showed them his student films and pitched a new feature idea. Troma President, Lloyd Kaufman, considers Grant a protegee, and considers him to be, “the next James Gunn to be birthed from the loins of Troma.” Screenwriting professor Lenny Crooks said, “I first came across Lloyd Kaufman back in the 80s when he self promoted The Toxic Avenger along the Cannes Croisette. The man is a true original, and he will be the perfect mentor to bring Grant’s talents to the fore.” Troma has offered Grant a significant amount of funding for the project and will oversee the production and distribute the film once it’s complete. The co-production will be an independent feature called CaterKillar. The story follows a recent college grad Brandon, whose friends take him on a cabin retreat for the weekend to help clear his mind after a recent suicide attempt. Unbeknownst to them, their trip may be cut short when a half-man, half-caterpillar humanoid formed from toxic waste begins picking off anyone in its path to build a flesh cocoon out of their body parts. CaterKillar combines the offbeat humor of Wet Hot American Summer with the kinetic low-budget energy of The Evil Dead to create something surreal and terrifying.

“When Grant sought out my advice on CaterKillar,” Crooks continued, “he was concerned that the genre might not fall within the expectations of a thesis film. Talent comes alive across all genres and I was delighted to offer some guidance as he progressed his exceptional script.”

“All of Grant’s projects push the boundaries of the imagination,” says MFA Programs Executive Director, Magdalene Brandeis. “His first year film, HeartFelt, was an earnest piece about family dysfunction with a felt puppet and real people, and his second, inspired by Covid isolation-fueled nostalgia, was staged as a live theatre piece with grown men in rocking chairs costumed as frogs.”

“It’s especially encouraging to me that this win should befall someone in Grant’s cohort,” Brandeis continues. “March 20, 2020 was the date they were all meant to head out to make their first short films in Production I, and it felt like we put the cameras in their hands and then snatched them right back out again.” Covid lockdow

n forged an uniquely strong cohort, however, and Grant’s classmates Charles Desjardin, Zach Phillips, Lisa Thomas, Conor Demmett, Elaine Menigo, Lina Sarrapochiello and Parker Cowden will also be working on this production.

Check-out Grant’s Caterkillar Indiegogo Campaign, For more information about our Grad

uate MFAs and Undergraduate Minors in Film or TV Writing, please contact us at MFAManhattan@stonybrook.edu.

Killer Films' May December Earns Standing Ovation at Cannes, Gets Netflix Deal

Todd Haynes and Magdalene Brandeis at the Stony Brook University commencement ceremony in 2022.

Christine Vachon, artistic director of Stony Brook University's MFA in Film program, celebrated another successful Cannes Film Festival this year, as May December, directed by Todd Haynes, received an eight-minute standing ovation after its May 20 premiere.

Produced by Vachon and Pam Koffler of Killer Films, the film stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. It is Killer Films' latest collaboration with Haynes, who has directed award-winning and groundbreaking films including Poison, Safe, Far From Heaven, Velvet Goldmine, and Carol. Soon after the May December premiere, Netflix finalized an $11 million deal for the North American rights.

"The making of this Todd Haynes film, May December, was a test case in Christine Vachon's Master Class all last year, from pre-production to production to post," said Magdalene Brandeis, executive director of the MFA programs in Film and Television Writing. "Our film program being partnered with Killer Films gives our students unprecedented access to the world of film."

Haynes received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at Stony Brook University's 2022 Commencement ceremony. Considered American cinema’s most prominent gay directorial voice, Haynes received the degree for all he has done for the arts, the LGBTQ community and Stony Brook University students. Haynes’ collaboration and creative partnership with Vachon has defined the rise of American independent film, and Stony Brook graduate students have been the beneficiaries. Haynes is an annual guest lecturer and his films have been used as real-time case studies. Every stage of production, including script development, budgets, storyboards, casting, post-production marketing and distribution are examined in-progress at the Stony Brook Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film.

MFA in Film Artistic Director Christine Vachon Talks About the State of the Independent Film from Cannes

Christine Vachon was one of several producers and executives in the indie film circuit that discussed the challenges and opportunities in today's cinematic landscape for The Wrap.

Moderated by Elevated Films' Cassian Elwes (The Butler), the discussion, posted on YouTube, featured Vachon along with Blacklist founder Franklin Leonard, 30WEST's Micah Green (Triangle of Sadness), and UTA Independent Film Head Rena Ronson.

Watch the video:

Two Shrihari Sathe Films Opening on May 19

Two films produced by MFA in Film faculty Shrihari Sathe — Stay Awake and The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future — are opening theatrically on May 19.

Stay Awake, the Berlinale award-winning feature film, is written and directed by Jamie Sisley and opens theatrically May 19 at Film Forum in New York, and on May 25 at Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles, followed by other cities across the US. The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Berlinale, where it received two awards.

Stay Awake stars Wyatt Oleff (IT, City on Fire), Fin Argus (Queer as Folk) and Chrissy Metz (This is Us). More information can be found at stayawakethefilm.com.

The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future, co-produced by Sathe and co-written and directed by Francisca Alegria, will release theatrically May 19 at QUAD Cinema in New York and at Landmark NuArt in Los Angeles, followed by other cities. QUAD Cinema hosted a preview screening May 3, followed by a Q&A session with lead actress Mia Maestro. The film had its world premiere at 2022 Sundance Film Festival. More information can be found on the film's website at Kino Lorber.

Sathe is a New York based director and producer who won the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Award – Producers Award.

Alum Yasmine Gomez Line Produced Netflix Doc on Immigrant Families

MFA in Film alumna Yasmine Gomez (far right) line produced the Netflix documentary Split at the Root, executive produced by Rosario Dawson (third from left).

Congratulations to 2020 MFA in Film alumna Yasmine Gomez for her work as line producer on a powerful, newly-released Netflix documentary, Split at the Root, which was executive produced by Rosario Dawson and acquired by Ava Duvernay’s Array.

The doc tells the story of how Immigrant Families Together (IFT) started. In Dawson’s own words, “this film is taking a really strong look at child separation at our border” which has been “clinically called torture.” Dawson says that “this isn’t about pointing fingers but about the beauty of what people can do when they say enough is enough.”

IFT is now an organization that works to reunite families separated at the border and has reunited 124 of them, so far.

The New York Times writes: "Split at the Root is a powerful lens into the emotional plight of the thousands of immigrants who cross the border into the United States, the danger they are fleeing and the people trying to help them."

Follow the film on Instagram.

2022

November 3 NYC Screening of Documentary Savage Land, Featuring Cinematography by MFA Faculty Niav Conty

In commemoration of Native American Indian Heritage Month of November, the City College of New York will screen Savage Land on Thursday, November 3. The film is a feature documentary by filmmaker/professor/film critic Campbell Dalglish and Dr. Henrietta Mann, a full-blooded Cheyenne descendant of the Sand Creek and Washita Massacres.

Stony Brook University MFA in Film faculty member Niav Conty served as the cinematographer on the film and won the award for Best Cinematography at the Fusion Film Festival.

RSVP for the screening, which will be held at 6 p.m. at Aaron Davis Hall, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, N.Y.

Distributed by EPSTV in over 230 PBS stations, the film has won Best Feature Documentary in 12 international film festivals, including the 46th Annual American Indian Film Festival.

Synopsis: "When Custer County Police kill 18 year old Cheyenne Arapaho Mah-hi-vist Red Bird Goodblanket in his family's kitchen, descendants of the Sand Creek and Washita Massacres take us back 150 years to reveal how historical trauma and the horrors of the past are still present in America today.”

The film family, the Goodblankets and Dr. Henrietta Mann will be present for an engaging Q & A that you will not want to miss as we discuss Colonialism today in America, an unsolved murder, and how to forgive the unforgivable in order to find healing for all in generations to come.

SAVAGELAND_TRAILER from Campbell Dalglish on Vimeo.

2021

Eugina Gelbelman Feature Premieres at Austria's Fright Nights Festival

Eugina Gelbelman (right) with Magdalene Brandeis, executive director of Stony Brook's Programs in Film and Television.

2019 Stony Brook Film alumna Eugina Gelbelman's feature film The White Goddess premiered at the Fright Nights Festival in Austria on October 14, 2021, and lead actress Morgan Everitt, an NYU grad acting alumna, won Best Actress.

The film will have two upcoming screenings in New York. The first, November 19 from 5-8 p.m., including a reception and Q&A at the Tribeca Screening Room. The second screening is November 30 from 9:30 p.m. - midnight at the Prospect Park Nitehawk Cinema, which will also have a brief reception and free dine-in and drink menu.

Eugina is a first-generation American screenwriter and director from Brooklyn, New York. Her parents are Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union.

fright nights She wrapped shooting on her first feature film, the self-financed $10K microbudget, The White Goddess, in February 2020. She has written several other features and two episodes of television that are currently unproduced. She has seven years of experience as a content creator and filmmaker and ten years as a joke writer and open mic stand up comic.

Eugina graduated in 2019 from the Film MFA Program at Stony Brook University (a program run in part by Christine Vachon's Killer Films), with a concentration in Screenwriting.

While at Stony Brook she was part of NYWIFT's from Script to Pre-Production program, and, in 2018, a recipient of the NYWIFT Ha Phuong Scholarship with her bio pic, Daddy's Girl.

Lisa Thomas Video 'Candy Store' Wins Munich Music Video Award

'Candy Store,' a long-form video directed by second-year director's track student Lisa Thomas, has won Best Production at the Munich Music Video Awards.

The music novella, produced by Thomas' Thin Edge FIlms, was shot in August 2020 immediately after lockdown. It had earned the coveted #1 spot on the popular alternative music site The Tinnitist, and was featured in Post Magazine.

Said Thomas: "Big shout out to The Dust Bowl Faeries, Nichola Benizzi, Jesika Farkas, Fabrizio Fama and the whole Catskill Covid Crew for daring to make art during a pandemic!"

The song is off off The Dust Bowl Faeries' album The Plague Garden. The video has an old-time feel, with a young couple struggling to keep their business afloat. Looking to collect on an insurance policy, they hatch a scheme to burn down their sweet shoppe.

Micah Demby Wins Turner Research Award

Huge congrats to first year Turner Fellow and film student, Micah Demby, who was just awarded the Turner Research Award for her short film project, Silhouette. She wrote a phenomenal proposal to earn the award for this worthy project.

In its briefest summary, Silhouette is a short film in which a young escort falls for one of her clients, only to discover he is not the man he presents himself to be. However, Silhouette is much deeper than that. It is a short film that addresses the stigma society has placed on sex workers, the dangers women face when dating, and the lack of care society often has towards black women and people of color.

Tom of Your Life Is a Multiple Festival Winner

Tom of Your Life, a full-length feature produced by MFA in Film graduate James Sharpe, was a winner at three film festivals and a finalist in several others.

Sharpe provided the story for the film, which was directed by Jer Sklar. The two also appear in the film, and Sklar wrote the screenplay.

The comedy-drama, available for streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV, won Best Narrative feature at the Albuquerque International Film Festival, Best Editing - Narrative Feature at the Culver City Film Festival, and earned Honorable Mention for Best Director at the Paris/Around International Film Festival.

The film, which has received rave reviews, was a finalist for Best Picture - Comedy at the Burbank International Film Festival, the DaVinci International Film Festival and the California Music Video and Film Awards. It was also an official selection at several other events, including the Stony Brook Film Festival, Dances With Films, the Cinquest Film and VR Festival and the Seattle True Independent Film Festival.

From the film's description on IMDB:

“When a baby is born who inexplicably grows, evolves and ages four years an hour, a strung-out nurse smuggles him out of the hospital to show him what life is all about before the authorities and time catch up with them both.”

Sharpe graduated from the MFA Film Program at Stony Brook University in 2018. Since graduating he has produced three feature-length films and was recruited into the newly formed film department at Jacksonville State University. In his final year of studies at SBU, he co-produced Big Fork, which is scheduled have its world premiere at the Breckenridge Film Festival this fall. He went on to single-handedly produce Tom of Your Life.

2020

Stony Brook Adds First MFA in Television Writing in the SUNY System

Stony Brook University announced today that the New York State Education Department has approved SUNY’s first-ever Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Television Writing. This stand-alone MFA is one of a handful in the country to offer in-depth graduate studies in the burgeoning field of TV Writing.

Read the complete press release

Student Lisa Thomas Directs Long-Form Video 'Candy Store'

Second-year MFA student Lisa Thomas directed the long-form video for 'Candy Store,' from The Dust Bowl Faeries, and it has made an immediate impression.

The video earned the coveted #1 spot on the popular alternative music site The Tinnitist, and was featured in Post Magazine, a monthly publication that looks at all areas of post production, including film, television, animation, graphics, audio and the Web.

The song is off off the Faeries' upcoming album 'The Plague Garden,' set for release Friday, November 20. The video has an old-time feel, with a young couple struggling to keep their business afloat. Looking to collect on an insurance policy, they hatch a scheme to burn down their sweet shoppe.

Said Thomas: “The location, which was empty with a ‘For Rent’ sign in the window, in many ways called out to me to restore it for the shoot. So, along with the help of our amazing production designer, Jesika Farkas, we brought back all the former details of the one-time candy shoppe, down to the original candy cases, fixtures and lights."

Read more about the Dust Bowl Faeries and the video at Rock and Roll Globe.

Conor Demmett and Zhuoga Renqing Take First Prize in SUNY PACC

Congratulations to Conor Demmett, Zhuoga Renqing (Gaga), their deck-master behind the scenes, Maja Cule, and the 2019 Dogme cohort for winning the $10K first prize in the SUNY Performing Arts, Creation and Curation competition on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The win represents not only the 110 collective hours that went into filming the Dogme project, a year's worth of multiple practice pitches and the development of an amazing pitch deck, but also four rounds of pitches before seven judges.

Congrats and thanks go also to Lenny Crooks for keeping the Dogme flame alive, and to all the professors — including Simone Pero and Jennie Allen — who listened to the pitch and gave notes.

Their pitch states: "Our goal is to become agents for this kind of filmmaking.... (and to) ....take back power as storytellers and artists." Mission accomplished!

Read the full story in SBU News

Jared Szafman Wins Page Award for Drama Pilot Script

Jared Szafman, a student in the Stony Brook University MFA in Film and Television Writing program, won the Gold Prize in the TV Drama Pilot category at the 2020 Page International Screenwriting Awards.

Szafman's pilot script, RX, topped a field of more than 8,000 script submissions from over 97 countries.

Szafman entered the MFA in Film program in 2015, as part of the first film cohort, where he studied screenwriting and directing. With the introduction of Alan Kingsberg's TV Writing curriculum, Jared took a deep dive into TV Writing and wrote a spec script and three pilots.

Film and television industry judges read and evaluate all the contest submissions at the Page Awards, searching for the best new screenplays and teleplays. Each year the Page Awards presents Gold, Silver, and Bronze Prizes in ten genre categories, plus a $25,000 Grand Prize.

Learn more about the Page Awards at the contest website.

John Kim Short Selected to Asian American International Film Festival

Big Congratulations to third year student John H. Kim!

His first year film, Cupcake Dad, is going to be featured in the Shorts program at the 43rd Annual Asian American International Film Festival. The AAIFF will be held online October 1-11, 2020 .

Since 1978, the Asian American International Film Festival, produced by Asian CineVision, is the nation’s first and longest running festival of its kind and the premier showcase for the best independent Asian, Asian diaspora and Pacific Islander cinema.

We couldn't be more excited to have one of our own featured!

Chris Arnold's Script, 'Cornerstone', Wins Best Student Script Award

Graduate student Chris Arnold’s script, Cornerstone, has won Best Student Script at the 2020 Los Angeles Film & Script Festival.

It is the latest honor for Cornerstone, which has also been ️ a Finalist at Script Summit 2020, a Semifinalist at the Create World Awards 2020, ️ a Quarterfinalist at the ScreenCraft True Story & Public Domain Competion 2020, and a Semifinalist at the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Winter 2020.

Congrats on racking up so many nominations Chris! We’re rooting for your success!

Halofsky's 'Going Out of Business' Wins Award at Women's Comedy Film Festival

Ada Lee Halofsky's mircro-short screenplay, Going Out of Business, was just named winner Best Romantic Comedy at the Women's Comedy Film Festival. The script was written as an exercise in her TV Writing class at Stony Brook Manhattan's MFA program.

The Women’s Comedy Film Festival is described as "a comedic haven, existing to elevate writers with fun, unique, and female-centric stories."

Documentary Executive Produced by Simone Pero wins Gracie Award

This Changes Everything, a documentary film executive produced by Stony Brook Killer Films MFA in Film Visiting Faculty Simone Pero, was among 100 winners at the 45th Gracie Awards, announced today by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF). Told first-hand by some of Hollywood’s leading voices in front of and behind the camera, This Changes Everything takes an incisive look into the history, empirical evidence, and systemic forces that foster gender disparity in Hollywood. CONTINUE READING >

2019

North Fork TV Fest Announces Second Annual TV Pilot Competition Winners

The NOFO TVFest/SB Pilot Competition announced the winning scripts for best original television pilot. Splitting first prize and $500 are Noelle P. Wilson for her pilot, By the Book, and Kate Levitt for her pilot, Trouble. CONTINUE READING >

Levitt Pilot Script Wins First Place at Nantucket Film Festival

Stony Brook’s MFA in Film and TV Writing student Kate Levitt won first prize at The Nantucket Film Festival for her one-hour pilot script Living. As winner of the top prize in the Showtime one-hour pilot competition, Levitt gets a development meeting with a Showtime executive and $1000. CONTINUE READING >

MFA Student Shorts Featured in 2 Film Festivals

MFA in Film students Jamie DiNicola and Kathleen Harty have had their short films entered into the Inside Out Fil Festival in Toronto and the Big Apple Film Festival in New York, respectively. CONTINUE READING >

MFA in Film Grad Juhyoung Ra Screens New Film at Joenju Film Festival

Stony Brook University MFA in Film graduate Juhyoung Ra has a feature film screening at the 20th Annual Jeonju International Film Festival in South Korea. Atlantic City is a full-length feature film that will screen from May 4-9. Ra, who attended the MFA in Film program in Manhattan and graduated in 2017, wrote, directed and edited the film.
CONTINUE READING >

Simone Pero Is Redefining the Meaning of 'Impact'

Simone Pero could not possibly have chosen a more appropriate name for her strategic marketing and production firm specializing in the confluence of content and social action: For Impact Productions. CONTINUE READING >

2018

Soo Hugh Joins TV Writing Program Guest Series on November 5

Soo Hugh, showrunner for the television adaptation of the bestselling novel "Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee currently in development, will be interviewed by Alan Kingsberg at the Stony Brook Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film on Monday, November 5. CONTINUE READING >

TV Writing Guest Series Begins September 24 with 'Power' Showrunner Gary Lennon

The Stony Brook Southampton TV Writing program based at the Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film will launch a new TV Writing Guest Series on Monday, September 24, at 8 p.m. with special guest Gary Lennon, co-showrunner of the Starz hit “Power." CONTINUE READING >

Levitt Wins Inaugural North Fork TV Fest TV Pilot Competition

North Fork TV Fest, in association with Stony Brook's MFA in Film (and TV Writing), announces its inaugural TV Pilot Competition winner: Kate Levitt. CONTINUE READING >

MFA in Film Student Eugina Gelbelman Receives New York Women in Film & Television HP Scholarship

Stony Brook Killer Films MFA in Film student Eugina Gelbelman has been selected to receive the 2018 New York Women in Film & Television Ha Phuong (NYWIFT-HP) Scholarship. CONTINUE READING >

Film Screening: Keep the Change

Please join us for a special screening of Keep the Change, followed by a talk with Stony Brook's MFA in Film's Artistic Director Christine Vachon, Writing/Directing Faculty Jennie Allen, and Writer/Director Rachel Israel. May 15, 2018 at 5:20 p.m. at Stony Brook Manhattan, 535 Eighth Avenue. CONTINUE READING >

2017

MFA in Film Student Eugina Gelbelman Accepted for New York Women in Film & Television Intensive Workshop

Out of a highly qualified field of seriously motivated competition, Stony Brook's MFA in Film student Eugina Gelbelman has been selected for the intensive year-long New York Women in Film & Television workshop, "From Script to Pre-Production (FS2P).” CONTINUE READING >

MFA in Film Student Yasmine Gomez Receives New York Women in Film and Television Scholarship

Stony Brook Killer Films MFA in Film student Yasmine Gomez has been selected to receive the 2017 New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) Scholarship. CONTINUE READING >

MFA in Film Program Expands to TV Writing, Adds New Manhattan Location

With a new base of operations at 535 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and the hiring of Alan Kingsberg as a full-time professor for the new TV Writing curriculum, the MFA in Film offered by Stony Brook Southampton in association with Killer Films is poised to join the ranks of top film schools in the U.S. CONTINUE READING >

Master Class in Acting Led by Academy Award® Winner Mercedes Ruehl

Stony Brook University announced today that it is offering a Master Class in Acting for Directors led by Academy Award® Winner Mercedes Ruehl. The Master Class will be held from July 12-16. CONTINUE READING >

202020 Filmmaker Darcy Brislin Earns a Spot In Sundance Institute's 2017 Screenwriters Lab

Darcy Brislin, a student in the MFA in Film's groundbreaking 202020 program, and her writing partner Dyana Winkler have been selected to take part in Sundance Institute's 2017 Screenwriters Lab at the Sundance Resort in Utah running from January 13 to 18, 2017. CONTINUE READING >

2016

MFA in Film Student Nancy Bannon Accepted for NYWIFT Intensive Workshop

Out of a highly qualified field of seriously motivated competition, Stony Brook Southampton/Killer Films MFA in Film student Nancy Bannon has been selected for an intensive yearlong New York Women in Film and Television workshop, "From Script to Pre-Production (FS2P)." CONTINUE READING >

Bank, Heyman Achievements Equal More Success for MFA in Film Program

The Stony Brook Southampton/Killer Films MFA in Film program got two big boosts for its already meteoric momentum in the last week, based on two major achievements by Melissa Bank and Bentley Heyman. CONTINUE READING >

MFA in Film Student Emily Laue Receives New York Women in Film and Television Scholarship

Stony Brook Southampton / Killer Films MFA in Film student Emily Laue has been selected to receive the New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) Scholarship. CONTINUE READING >

MFA in Film Students Nominated for Careers in Entertainment Tour

Eugina Gelbelman and Matthew Gonzalez, two first-year students enrolled in the Stony Brook Southampton Killer Films MFA in Film program based in Southampton and Manhattan, and Viviana Leo and Yasmine Gomez, two second-year students, have been nominated to take part in the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation (WJSFF) Careers in Entertainment Tour stop in New York City on September 21, 2016. CONTINUE READING >

Magdalene Brandeis Joins Robin Pogrebin to Cohost Panel Following Screening of Equal Means Equal

Fresh from her visit to the White House as a juror for the March on Washington Film Festival, Associate Director of the Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Film program Magdalene Brandeis will be cohosting a panel on National ERA Day, following a screening of the documentary Equal Means Equal. CONTINUE READING >

Magdalene Brandeis Invited to White House for Film Festival Screening and Awards Program

Southampton, NY, July 14, 2016—Magdalene Brandeis, associate director of the Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Film program offered in association with Killer Films, has been invited to The White House in Washington, D.C. for a special March on Washington Film Festival awards ceremony and screening on Wednesday, July 20. Brandeis served as a juror in the Festival's inaugural Student & Emerging Filmmaker Competition this year. CONTINUE READING >

Master Class in Film Led by Academy Award® Winner Mercedes Ruehl

New York and Southampton, NY, June 24, 2016—Stony Brook University announced today that it is offering a Master Class in Acting for Directors led by Academy Award® Winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers). CONTINUE READING >

Academy Award Nods for Killer Films' Carol Have Special Meaning for MFA in Film Students

SOUTHAMPTON, NY, February, 2016—When the film Carol earned nominations for Oscars in six categories this year, the Academy Awards attention had special meaning for students in Stony Brook Southampton's MFA in Film program. CONTINUE READING >

MFA in Film Co-Sponsors 2016 SUNYWide Film Festival

SOUTHAMPTON, NY, February 12, 2016—Less than a year after being approved by the New York State Education Department, the MFA in Film program at Stony Brook Southampton + Manhattan has announced that it will be co-sponsoring the 7th Annual SUNYWide Film Festival, to be held April 8-9, 2016 at the campus of festival host and co-sponsor SUNY Oswego. CONTINUE READING >

2015

Hamptons International Film Festival Sloan Fellows Join Stony Brook MFA in Film Students in Master Class Led by Academy Award® Winner Mercedes Ruehl

New York and Southampton, NY, May 20, 2015 - Stony Brook University announced today that the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellows from the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) will join Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Film students in a Master Class in Acting for Directors led by Academy Award® winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers). CONTINUE READING >

Christine Vachon, Todd Haynes Premiere Carol at 2015 Cannes Film Festival
Film Served as Real-Time Case Study for Stony Brook MFA in Film Students

New York and Southampton, NY, May 12, 2015 - Stony Brook University announced today that Christine Vachon, Founder of legendary indie production company Killer Films and Graduate Director of Stony Brook's innovative Master of Fine Arts in Film Program, and Academy Award®-nominated Director Todd Haynes, who has served as guest faculty at Stony Brook's MFA in Film Program, will premiere their eagerly anticipated film Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival scheduled for May 13-24. CONTINUE READING >

Stony Brook's MFA in Film Program Featured at Sixth Annual SUNYwide Film Festival

New York and Southampton, NY, April 28, 2015 - Stony Brook University announced today that its new MFA in Film Program, an innovative three-year graduate program in narrative film, led by Graduate Director Christine Vachon, Co-Founder of legendary indie production company, Killer Films was featured at the sixth annual SUNYwide Film Festival (SWFF6) in Oswego, New York, held April 24-26. CONTINUE READING >

Stony Brook Killers, Stony Brook's Film School Soccer Team, Makes Knockout Round of 2015 NYFEST Industry Tournament

New York and Southampton, NY, April 21, 2015 - Stony Brook University announced today that the Stony Brook Killers, the Stony Brook / Killer MFA in Film soccer team, made it to the knock out round on their debut performance at the 2015 New York Film and Entertainment Soccer Tournament (NYFEST) at Pier 5, Brooklyn Bridge Park held Saturday April 19. CONTINUE READING >

Stony Brook University Offers MFA in Film - Groundbreaking, Affordable, Project-Driven, Led by Legendary Killer Films Producer Christine Vachon
New York and Southampton, NY, April 2, 2015 - Stony Brook University announced its new groundbreaking and affordable Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Film. With locations in Manhattan and Southampton, Stony Brook's innovative three-year MFA program is led by Graduate Director Christine Vachon, Co-Founder of legendary indie powerhouse Killer Films. Stony Brook and Killer Films share a mission to provide students an environment where they can learn, create and pursue their art without signing on to a lifetime of debt. This new program emphasizes original storytelling and is taught by a faculty of the most distinguished practicing artists in the country. CONTINUE READING >

Christine Vachon to Keynote at SXSW
Vachon, Legendary Founder of Killer Films and Graduate Director of Stony Brook’s Film Program

New York and Southampton, NY, March 11, 2015 – Stony Brook University announced today that Christine Vachon, Founder of legendary indie production company Killer Films and Graduate Director of Stony Brook’s innovative Master of Fine Arts in Film Program, will be a keynote speaker at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Film Festival.
CONTINUE READING >

Julianne Moore Wins Best Actress Academy Award for Still Alice, a Killer Films Production
Three Stony Brook Students Earn Credit on Crew

New York and Stony Brook, N.Y.—February 23, 2015—Stony Brook University announced today that three students in its MFA in Film program were credited participants in the feature film STILL ALICE, produced by Killer Films, which earned the 2014 Academy Award® for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" for Julianne Moore, who also won the Best Actress Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award, and Independent Spirit Award.
CONTINUE READING >

Stony Brook Southampton Adds First MFA Degree in Film in the SUNY System
Applications Now Being Accepted for Fall 2015

New York and Southampton, NY, February 3, 2015 – Stony Brook University announced today that the NY State Education Department has approved SUNY's first ever Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Film.
CONTINUE READING >

View Film and TV Writing Program news briefs and press releases

2025

Third-year SBU Film MFA student Margarita Mina's Baby Fat among 21 Best Filipino Films of 2025 by Rolling Stone Magazine

Directed by Margarita Mina, Baby Fat is a pink-hued love letter to all Filipinos living in the in-between of their homeland and somewhere far away. The short follows Sitti (Hannah Barry), a young, chubby Filipino-American tween who has a Filipino dance coming up at her school’s cultural program. Her mother (Paulina Yeung) has asked for a tita back home to handcraft a baro’t saya for Sitti, but the tween is more concerned with scrolling through TikTok and eating French fries than getting closer to a culture that barely feels like her own. Things go awry when Sitti, still wearing her malong, sits right down on her plate of ketchup-smeared fries. The shot of a traditional dress, so lovingly handmade ruined by blotches of ketchup, can conjure up all sorts of ideas: diaspora, colonization, cultural loss, body dysmorphia, girlhood. Mina keeps her 12-minute short loose, messy, and punchy, and it all swirls together like a malong left on a spin cycle in an American laundromat. —Mel Wang

"And we’ve looked for affordable hidden gems like SUNY Stony Brook, where you can learn from one of the most prolific and successful producers in the business, Christine Vachon."

Producer Christine Vachon has spoken at programs all over the world, and often found students unprepared for the constant surprises of indie moviemaking: “I thought, if I could ever design my own program, I would try to bring the professional world into the classroom constantly.” So when she became the artistic director of SUNY Stony Brook’s MFA in film program, she did exactly that. “We’re trying to mirror the constant change that is happening from one day to the next as our world shifts — strikes, tariffs, whatever it is.” Stony Brook’s faculty also includes Magdalene Brandeis, executive director of the MFA programs in film and television, and Pamela Koffler, who co-founded Killer Films with Vachon. The MFA programs in film and television writing are based at the school’s Manhattan location, and Stony Brook is one of the more affordable schools on this list: It notes that the full cost of its MFA degree in film is about $40,000 for New Yorkers.

Killer Films’ 30th Anniversary Retrospective at New York’s Metrograph Through August 17

In partnership with the independent New York City movie theater Metrograph, Stony Brook University MFA in Film Program Artistic Director and Killer Films Co-Founder Christine Vachon curated an eight-film, 30th anniversary retrospective highlighting their production company’s monumental impact on the film industry.

Read more about the partnership on Stony Brook's News Page.

2024

Alumna Peggy Tserwen Tseng Interviewed by Bold Journey Magazine

I found my purpose in 2023 when I embarked on my first feature film, ‘Miss Mermaid,’ which I wrote and directed. The story follows a law student in Taipei who, after receiving a life-changing call about her sister in New York, confronts her perceptions of family and identity. Through this project, I realized my passion for exploring themes of Asian mother-daughter relationships and the immigrant experience, drawing from my own upbringing in Taipei and move to New York. -Peggy Tserwen Tseng

Read the full interview on Bold Journey.

FilmSchool.org Interviews Program Directors Alan Kingsberg and Magdalene Brandeis on "How to Get Into Stony Brook University"

Both Magdalene and Alan agree: Stony Brook University is the hidden gem of East Coast film and TV programs. Featuring award-winning faculty and guest lecturers, our school focuses on independent film as well as groundbreaking television education.

To read the interviews, read along here on Filmschool.org.

Alumna from 202020, Dogme, and Screenwriting, Jill Campell, directs documentary about Jule Campell's career

"In examining Jule’s career, I was intrigued to discover just how embattled she was, it seems, by everyone except the amazing women she worked with,” says director Jill Campbell. “Jule’s work was constantly scrutinized, yet she stuck to her inner moral compass and created something timeless.”

Alumna Peggy Tserwen's Tseng talks about her thesis film, Miss Mermaid

The film tells the story of an ambitious law school student in Taipei who receives a life-altering phone call from a hospital in New York City, informing her that her sister is in a coma with a premature baby. As she travels to New York alone, she begins to uncover the complexities of her sister’s life, ultimately confronting her own perceptions and understanding of family and identity.

2023

Killer Films' Past Lives Nominated for Best Picture at This Year's Golden Globes

The nominations for the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards were revealed Monday morning, helping to kick awards season into high gear.

Past Lives director, Celine Song is also nominated for Best Director. May December is also nominated for several awards.

Killer Films Land 10 Nominations From the Film Independent Spirit Awards

American Fiction, May December and Past Lives lead the nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were were announced Tuesday

morning.

Each film garnered five noms, including best feature. Also nominated in that category are All of Us Strangers, Passages and We Grown Now.

The Wrap Puts Christine Vachon on the Cover, Ranks Stony Brook 28th in Top US Film Schools

Christine Vachon, award-winning producer and artistic director of the Stony Brook University MFA in Film program, is on the cover of The Wrap‘s annual College Issue, in which Stony Brook is ranked 28th among the top 50 film schools in the United States.

Vachon was interviewed for the cover story, subtitled “An indie legend hits the classroom,” and discusses film schools, first-time directors, and the changing face of the entertainment industry. Vachon, who founded Killer Films with producer Pamela Koffler, talks about her experience in the film world and working with directors like Todd Solondz, Celine Song, Paul Schrader and Todd Haynes, whose film May December premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to rave reviews.

“Over the course of 30 years and more than a 100 films, Christine Vachon has become one of the most impactful producers in independent film. And, as the artistic director at Stony Brook Manhattan, one of the most intriguing film educators as well,” the article states. “At Stony Brook, Vachon said that she and Killer Films ‘set out to build a new type of curriculum—a practical education in all forms of visual storytelling, and at state university prices.’ ”

Read more at SBU News and the interview in The Wrap.

From Vanity Fair: Christine Vachon, Hollywood’s Greatest Anomaly

The legendary producer broke Hollywood barriers, changed American movies, and is behind two of 2023’s best films in Past Lives and May December. Her first Oscar nomination is finally in sight: “It would mean an extraordinary amount to me.”

Read the full article in Vanity Fair.

Christine Vachon honored at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Christine Vachon, Killer Films co-founder and artistic director of the Stony Brook MFA Program in Film, was honored with a career tribute at the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, held June 30-July 8, 2023.

Vachon provided insight into some of the film industry's most pressing issues at a keynote masterclass session. She spoke about what exhibitors can do to encourage audiences to return to the theaters, whether she would ever make a superhero movie, and looked back at some of the highlights of her career.

She also discussed why she enjoys working with first-time directors, noting, "First-time directors tend to be making the story they really want to tell, and their joy…in what they do is something that gets me excited.”

The career tribute included screenings of her latest film, the buzzy Past Lives, and You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder, starring Ewan McGregor.

Read an interview with Vachon in The Hollywood Reporter.

Karlovy Vary is the largest film festival in the Czech Republic and the most prestigious such festival in Central and Eastern Europe. It is one of the oldest A-list film festivals, a category it shares with the festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, San Sebastian, Montreal, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

Perry Blackshear to Direct Horror Feature Mindful Starring Jenny Slate

Everything Everywhere All At Once and Venom star Jenny Slate will star in and executive-produce the horror movie Mindful, about a possessed meditation app that begins to kill its followers.

MFA in Film faculty Perry Blackshear (They Look Like People) will direct from a script by Emmy, Golden Globe and Writers Guild award winner Les Bohem, who wrote — and executive-produced with Steven Spielberg — the SyFi Channel miniseries Taken.

In Mindful, when her husband shockingly dies while meditating on the Mindful app, Angela (Slate), deeply suspicious of the new wellness craze, uncovers supernatural forces that have fused with the technology. As the app’s popularity spreads like wildfire, she is forced to confront her own demons and dive into a terrifying ‘out of body’ experience in order to save the ones she loves.

Screen Daily Interviews Pamela Koffler About Her Life in the Film Business

Producer, Killer Films co-founder and MFA in Film faculty member Pamela Koffler was interviewed by Screen Daily about her life in the film business, covering everything from her office and routine to stars like Meryl Streep.

Read the interview

2022

When I Consume You Is Perry Blackshear's Latest Indie Horror Feature

In its Aug. 15 review, Movieweb said When I Consume You, the latest feature by Perry Blackshear, faculty member in the Stony Brook University MFA in Film Program, continues Blackshear's "trajectory as one of the best indie filmmakers in the horror movie genre."

"In many ways, When I Consume You is about the struggle to find contentment and acceptance amidst the miseries and pains of existence," the review said.

Paste reviewed the film and said its "unsparing horror will eat you alive."

When I Consume You is available on video on demand services beginning August 16.

Christine Vachon to Deliver Sundance: London Keynote

Christine Vachon, Killer Films co-founder and artistic director of the Stony Brook MFA Program in Film, will deliver the keynote speech June 11 at Sundance Film Festival: London.

Vachon spoke with Screendaily about her first Sundance Film Festival and the current state of the film industry.

Meet Yi-Chiang Lin, Filmmaker/Photographer

January 2022 film graduate Yi-Chiang Lin talks with Shoutout LA about his thesis feature film.

Read the article at Shoutout LA

2021

MFA in Film Programs Host Student Screenings in NYC

On Saturday, October 23, 2021, for the first time since the pandemic lockdown, the Stony Brook MFA in Film hosted its annual end-of-year Production I and Production II screenings at the Cinepolis movie theatre in Chelsea.

Read the full story in SBU News

TV Series Produced by Lisa Thomas and Parker Cowden Named Among September's Best by Time

Teenage Euthanasia, an animated series on Adult Swim produced by two thesis students from the MFA in Film program, was recently named by Time magazine as one of the five best new television shows for September 2021.

Produced by Lisa M. Thomas and associated produced by Parker Cowden, the show is about a partially undead family that owns a Florida funeral home, created by author and Made for Love creator Alissa Nutting and At Home With Amy Sedaris executive producer Alyson Levy.

Patricia Clarkson to Play Lilly Ledbetter in Lilly, Produced by Simone Pero

Patricia Clarkson will play Lilly Ledbetter in the upcoming biopic Lilly, written and directed by Rachel Feldman and produced by Simone Pero, a member of the MFA in Film faculty and a Stony Brook alumna.

Clarkson recently starred with Amy Adams in the HBO series Sharp Objects, for which she won a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Pieces of April and has received multiple Screen Actors Guild and Tony Award nominations, with numerous Golden Globe, Emmy, National Society of Film Critics, and British Independent Film Awards.

Lilly is a timely, political thriller based on the remarkable life of Fair Pay icon Lilly Ledbetter, who fought tirelessly for equal pay for equal work.

Read more about the film at its website.

‘Trans in Trumpland’ Documentary Debuts Trailer, Streaming on Topic

A new trailer for the upcoming docuseries Trans in Trumpland, produced by Jamie DiNicola, an MFA in Film student from the incoming class of 2018, has been released. Topic, the streaming service from First Look Media, has acquired North American streaming rights to the series. It premiered on Feb. 25.

Read more about the new series in Vogue and in Variety

2020

Students Lisa Thomas and Parker Cowden Help Produce Netflix Show on Meditation

Second-year MFA students Lisa Thomas and Parker Cowden are working on the new Netflix show, Headspace Guide to Meditation, which will premiere January 1 on the streaming service.

Thomas is a supervising producer and Cowden is an associate producer on the animated series, which is based on the popular meditation app, Headspace.Over the course of eight episodes, Headspace co-founder and former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe takes viewers through the benefits and science behind meditation. Each 20-minute episode showcases a different mindfulness technique that aids in the practice of meditation.

It is one of three series that Netflix and Headspace are creating, including the upcoming Headspace Guide to Sleep.

Thomas is also an executive producer for the Adult Swim animated series Teenage Euthanasia, co-created by Alissa Nutting, a New York Times Editor's Choice writer (Made for Love) and Emmy-nominated producer Alyson Levy.

Read more about the Netflix series at Deadline and at The Hollywood Reporter.

SBU Adds SUNY's First MFA in Television Writing Program

Stony Brook University announced that the New York State Education Department has approved SUNY’s first-ever Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Television Writing. This stand-alone MFA is one of a handful in the country to offer in-depth graduate studies in the burgeoning field of TV Writing.

Located at the Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film, and partnered with Killer Films, the Television Writing MFA is among the most comprehensive in the world. Students will graduate with a portfolio of three original pilot scripts; they will also write, direct and produce a micro pilot for an original web series.

Read the complete article at SBU News

Killer Films' Latest Project: Billy Porter's Directorial Debut

Billy Porter will make his feature directorial debut with the coming-of-age story What If? from a screenplay by Alvaro García Lecuona for MGM’s newly relaunched Orion Pictures.

The story centers on a high school senior posting on social media about his crush on Kelsa, a trans girl at his school, resulting in the internet encouraging him to pursue the relationship. The two then navigate a senior year relationship that neither of them could have expected.

Producers are Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa on behalf of Killer Films, along with Andrew Lauren and D.J. Gugenheim on behalf of Andrew Lauren Productions. The project marks the first film under MGM and Killer Films recently announced first-look deal.

Read the complete article in Variety

Killer Films Celebrates 25 Years of Exemplary Indie Cinema

By her own admission, Christine Vachon is not a nostalgic person. This would normally make a conversation about the 25th anniversary of her pioneering independent film company Killer Films a challenge but, luckily, recent events have changed her perspective.

Read the complete article in Variety

James Evans and Amy Gaipa Producing Second Mastic Beach Mini Indie Film Fest

Film program faculty James Evans and Amy Gaipa are co-producing the Mastic Beach Mini Indie Virtual Film Fest, to be held online November 6-8.

Read the complete article at the Long Island Advance

Christine Vachon Speaks with Variety on Gender-Neutral Awards

Christine Vachon, attending the Venice International Film Festival, spoke to Variety about gender-neutral acting awards, which will be given at the Berlin Film Festival in February.

Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett both praised the Berlin festival for the move. Vachon, who is serving on the Venice festival's Horizons jury, said the idea was a promising, yet untested, hypothesis. From the magazine:

"In theory, it's a wonderful idea," said Vachon. "And it will be interesting to see how it manifests. How do you reset your brain, either as a jury member or an Academy member — and I'm not saying the Academy will do this — to divorce yourself from the whole notion of best actor and best actress that we've grown up with? How do you reset?"

She then brought up her still ongoing jury duties. "It would change the nature of the conversations," Vachon noted.

"Right now we're talking about a certain set of performances that we feel are very strong by women, and another set of performances that we feel are strong by men. So we would have to meld those conversations. I’m not saying we couldn’t do it, I’m just saying it would be a different kind of discussion."

Read the complete article in Variety

Venice Film Festival Is Memorable for Christine Vachon and Killer Films’ Latest, ‘The World to Come’

The 77th Venice International Film Festival was a memorable one for Christine Vachon, the artistic director of the Stony Brook University MFA in Film program, and Pamela Koffler. Their film, The World to Come, made its premiere at “La Biennale di Venezia,” arriving to outstanding reviews. The event also moved Vachon to post her feelings about the opening ceremony to Facebook, explaining how important films are, especially in a post-COVID world.

Read the complete article at SBU News

James Sharpe’s Film ‘Tom of Your Life’ Is Getting Rave Reviews

Tom of Your Life, a full-length feature produced by MFA in Film graduate James Sharpe, has received rave reviews since its debut last month. In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, film critic Richard Roeper declares, “This is one of my favorite movies of 2020.”

Read the complete article in SBU News

Social Impact Filmmaking Program Teaches "Passion to Make a Difference"

“The impact of the events of 2020 on filmmaking will be monumental,” said Karen Offitzer, director of the undergraduate minor in filmmaking at Stony Brook and one of three co-directors of the Social Impact Filmmaking program. “It will bring changes in the way we make movies, changes in the way we see them and changes in the very stories we want to tell.”

Read the complete article at SBU News

Grad Yasmine Gomez contributes to Beyoncé's 'Black Is King'

Yasmine Gomez, a January 2020 MFA in Film graduate, was the New York production manager for Beyoncé's visual album Black Is King, which premiered on and is streaming exclusively on Disney +.

Jamie DiNicola producing docuseries 'Trans in Trumpland'

Jamie DiNicola, an MFA in Film student from the incoming class of 2018, is producing the docuseries Trans in Trumpland.

The four-part series, created by TransWave Films and directed by trans filmmaker Tony Zosherafatain, follows four people as they engage in the fight for transgender equality in the United States during the Trump presidency. Trace Lysette, best known for her work on “Transparent” and in “Hustlers,” has signed on as executive producer.

Read the complete article in Variety. See more coverage from Deadline, in Forbes Magazine and from Them.

Christine Vachon Named One of the 50 Most Powerful LGBTQ Players in Hollywood

Award-winning film producer Christine Vachon, Artistic Director of the Stony Brook University MFA in Film program and co-founder of Killer Films, has been named one of the 50 Most Powerful LGBTQ Players in Hollywood by The Hollywood Reporter.

The magazine’s annual Pride Issue honors “the most powerful LGBTQ people in the industry who are making global culture more inclusive.”

Killer Films signs first-look development deals with MGM

Killer Films, founded by Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, has signed first-look development deals with MGM for both film and television.

Under the two-year agreements, MGM and Killer Films will develop and produce feature films and original scripted series across a variety of genres and platforms. MGM will work closely with Vachon, Koffler and their partner, David Hinojosa, to develop and produce feature films and original scripted series together across a variety of genres and platforms. The announcement was made May 21 by Michael De Luca, MGM’s Film Group Chairman and Steve Stark, President of MGM/UA Television.

Read more at Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.

Christine Vachon is the centerpiece interview in Screen Daily

MFA in Film's Artistic Director and co-founder of Killer Films, Christine Vachon, spoke with Screen Daily about the fluctuating state of indie film. From the interview:

One of the things I always tell my students [Vachon is artistic director of the film and television writing MFA at Stony Brook Manhattan in New York City] is that there isn’t a path. And you really have to walk through doors that open for you, especially if you don’t come from money, and I don’t. I knew that film was interesting to me.

Read the complete interview at the Screen Daily website

2019

Simone Pero Selected as a Cynopsis Top Women in Media Honoree

Faculty member and New York Women in Film and Television Board President Simone Pero was honored by Cynopsis as one of its 2019 Top Women in Media. Pero was one of five honorees in the "Community Builder" category.

New York Women in Film and Television interview Magdalene Brandeis

New York Women in Film and Television talked shop with MFA in Film Director (& NYWIFT member) Magdalene Brandeis about how our program is turning the film school model on its head.

Filmmaker puts Mastic Beach in the spotlight with 'Mini Indie' festival

MFA in Film candidate James Evans recently hosted the first annual Mastic Beach Mini Indie Film Fest, which featured a lineup of more than 20 local, experimental, documentary, animation and narrative films.

2018

Killer Films' First Reformed is a winner at Gotham Awards and National Board of Review

Killer Films picked up three awards for First Reformed, written and directed by Paul Schrader and starting Ethan Hawke. The film was produced by Killer Films; MFA in Film Artistic Director Christine Vachon and faculty member David Hinojosa are also among the producers.

Schrader won the award for Best Screenplay and Hawke for Best Actor at the IFP Gotham Awards on Nov. 26. Schrader also won for Best Original Screenplay when the National Board of Review announced its 2018 list of award winners on Nov. 27.

Read more at The New York Times and at IndieWire.

The Tale's Jennifer Fox talks about her film and collaborating with Simone Pero

In a guest column for Deadline, The Tale writer and director Jennifer Fox talks about the creation of the powerful film, and her collaborative relationship with producer and MFA in Film faculty member Simone Pero.

Read the complete column at Deadline.

Killer Films' Vachon and Hinojosa producing film based on novel by CWL's Merrell

In a Southampton Arts double feature, Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa of Killer Films and the MFA in Film program will co-produce a new film based on the 2014 novel,Shirley, written by Susan Scarf Merrell, director of the Southampton Writers Conference and a professor in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature program.

The film, also titled Shirley, will star Elizabeth Moss as famed horror author Shirley Jackson, and Michael Stuhlbarg as her husband. Filming is scheduled to begin in the summer.

Read the complete story at Deadline.

Nicole Kidman joins Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey in supporting The Writers Lab

The Writers Lab — a project established by the New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) and IRIS and associated with the Stony Brook MFA in Film program — got a boost this week when Nicole Kidman pledged her support, joining Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey in funding the program for women screenwriters over 40.

The project, established in collaboration with the Writers Guild of America, East, selects leading filmmakers to provide exclusive mentorship and increase opportunities for content made by women. The program has received funding from Streep every year since its inception in 2015.

"What a wonderful idea," said Kidman, who noted the expanding opprtunities for women during her recent acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance in HBO's Big Little Lies. "A space for women to work with one another to develop the stories they want to tell. I’m a fan already."

The Writers Lab is also supported by The Black List, Relativity Media, and Tribeca Film Institute. The next lab will be held in September 2018.

Read more at the NYWIFT website and at Times Square Chronicles.

Simone Pero-produced The Tale wows Sundance, will premiere on HBO

The Tale, starring Laura Dern, was produced by Simone Pero. Image courtesy Sundance Film Festival

Jennifer Fox's sexual abuse survivor film The Tale, produced by Simone Pero — a member of the MFA in Film program faculty and a Stony Brook University alumna — was described by Variety as "the buzziest movie of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival," and after receiving rave reviews, will premiere on HBO.

The film stars Laura Dern as a woman who starts to uncover memories from her childhood involving sexual abuse, and was one of the most talked-about films at Sundance.

According to Variety:

The deal for North American and overseas territories was in the high seven figure range, making it one of the largest pacts out of this year’s Sundance. The Tale will debut along with an outreach program for victims of sexual abuse, which was one of the requests of the filmmakers.

"It has always been my intent to find an engaged distribution partner who deeply understands the wide reach of the project, not just as a film, but also for the impact it can have on a larger global conversation," Fox said in a statement. "In a world in which stories like mine have often been pushed into the darkness, no one has been better at shining a light on storytelling and important social issues than HBO."

Pero is president and founder of For Impact Productions, a strategic marketing and production firm specializing in the confluence of content and social action, and is also president of New York Women in Film and Television. In addition to her producing work, Pero is part of the leadership team that created SUNY's first-ever MFA in Film at Stony Brook, in association with Killer Films.

Read more about The Tale's deal with HBO at Collider. Variety investigates whether the deal signals a paradigm shift.

Aaron Lehmann short film selected to Queens World Film Festival

A short film directed by recent MFA in Film graduate Aaron Lehmann has been named an official selection to the eighth annual Queens World Film Festival.

Lehmann's film, "Violetta," was made in the MFA program and will be shown at the festival, which will be held at the the Kaufman Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria from March 15-25, 2018.

In the filmmaker's note on the festival website, Lehmann describes the film as follows:

"Violetta" is about a young girl striving for human connection in an isolating and dangerous world. It is about the psychological avenues a person might travel when there is an offset of power dynamics within their family, and how Violetta is striving to understand this all; as her soul begins to steer her towards her own independence. Violetta is not aware of her own motivations, and is forced therefore to allow her desires to lead her into strange worlds, interactions, and discovery."

Learn more at the Queens World Film Festival website.

2017

MFA in Film Faculty Simone Pero Addresses the Year for Women in Entertainment at NYWIFT Gala

Film producer Simone Pero, a member of the MFA in Film program faculty and a Stony Brook University alumna, delivered the presidential welcome speech at the New York Women in Film and Television’s 38th annual Muse Awards gala on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Hilton Midtown in New York.

Pero, the president of the NYWIFT, spoke about the year for women in entertainment, one that has been seen a revolution against sexual harrassment in the industry. Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul and Julie Menin, the commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment also addressed the gathering, both championing the causes of women in entertainment, New York State productions, and zero tolerance for harassment.

Read the full story in Happenings

Listen: Christine Vachon talks film on WNYC

MFA in Film creative director Christine Vachon recently sat down with The New Yorker’s Hilton Als for a conversation about some of her landmark works, including Larry Clark’s Kids, which looked at AIDS and homelessness among New York teens, and Boys Don’t Cry, one of the first movies to address the trans experience. Vachon also discusses her time working with Harvey Weinstein, and the barriers that women face in Hollywood.

Listen to the audio at WNYC.org

Slate profiles Christine Vachon: 'Telling the Stories That Hollywood Won't'

Vachon tells Slate how she has remained successful in a world hostile to both women and midbudget films.

Read the story on Slate.com

Video: Alan Kingsberg talks about how to break into the TV industry as a writer

Alan Kingsberg speaks with IVY TV and breaks down everything you need to know to make it as a writer in television, from creating a portfolio, to getting yourself noticed and landing an agent, a manager, and a job.

Watch the video at IVY TV

MFA in Film Program ranked by The Wrap among the top 50 in the U.S.

The MFA in Film program was recognized by The Wrap when, on September 20, it released its ranking of the top 50 film schools in the United States. Stony Brook was ranked 40th in the country, not bad for a program in just its third year.

Read the story at The Wrap

Focus on Women: Stony Brook's MFA in Film leads the way for shaping women directors

Faculty member Simone Pero notes that we're in an auspicious time for cracking the gender gap in film, entertainment and media storytelling in a Happenings story on the Stony Brook Film Festival, where 42 percent of the films are directed by women.

Read the story in Happenings

Christine Vachon, Magdalene Brandeis talk about the state of film with Filmmaker

Christine Vachon, director of the Stony Brook / Killer Films MFA in Film program, spoke with Filmmaker Magazine in an article titled, "Film Schools in a Time of Disruption." Associate director Magdalene Brandeis was also interviewed, and the pair discussed their thoughts on the current state of the film industry and how film schools are adapting.

Read a summary in Happenings

Bentley Heyman and Helen Schreiner in Montana filming debut feature, Big Fork

Writer-director Bentley Heyman and producer Helen Schreiner met in the SBU/Killer Film Program and are making their first feature film in Whitefish, Montana.

2016

SBS Film Students discover Dogme in East Hampton

From May 13 to May 20, Stony Brook Southampton film students visited sites around East Hampton for a series of linked webisodes using techniques inspired by Dogme 95's ethos for a pared-down, anti-Hollywood approach to filmmaking.

'Toy Story' Writer Alec Sokolow joins Dogme filmmaking students In East Hampton

Alec Sokolow, a screenwriter whose credits include co-writing “Toy Story” and “Garfield,” is among six writer-directors making a film in East Hampton.

Mr. Sokolow joined a group of Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Film students in January for a semester-long project that takes a Dogme 95 film from inception to completion. The semester began at the Stony Brook University's Manhattan facility and will now culminate in a six-day film shoot.

Julianne Moore interviews Christine Vachon in Interview Magazine

Best Actress Oscar winner Julianne Moore sat down with MFA in Film director Christine Vachon for an interview published in Interview Magazine and on its website.

Vachon and Moore discuss screening her latest film, Carol, in Cuba, getting started in the movie business, and her longstanding and incredibly productive working relationship with director Todd Haynes.

Christine Vachon to be named 'Woman of the Year' at Fusion Film Festival

Christine Vachon, director of the MFA in Film program at Stony Brook Southampton and Manhattan and a co-founder of Killer Films, will be named 2016’s ‘Woman of the Year’ by the Fusion Film Festival, the NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ student film fest.

Vachon’s most recent film, Weiner-Dog, directed by Tisch alumnus and graduate faculty member Todd Soldonz, will kick off the festival, which will be held March 3-5. The film will be followed by a conversation and Q&A between Vachon and Soldonz.

Christine Vachon Wins Special Teddy Award at 2016 Berlin Film Festival

Christine Vachon, director of the MFA in Film program at Stony Brook Southampton and Manhattan and a co-founder of Killer Films, received the Special Teddy Award February 19 at the Berlin Film Festival.

The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival.

Vachon discussed her long career at the Berlin festival’s Queer Academy Summit, including her work with Todd Haynes, LGBT cinema and the challenges of financing female-driven films.

Two Films Edited by Jeanne Applegate Featured at Sundance

Former Stony Brook MFA and Killer Films 20/20/20 student Jeanne Applegate was the editor on two films featured at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Applegate edited the feature Dark Night, which was written and directed by Tim Sutton. Dark Night is a 'ripped-from-the-headlines' story that traces the events leading up to a mass shooting in a suburban multiplex. Anna Rose Hopkins, who starred in Darcy Brislin's 20/20/20 short, was cast in Dark Night. Brislin won a Sundance Institute / Sloan Commissioning Grant this year. Read more on Dark Night at Rolling Stone. Read the review at Twitch.

Applegate also co-edited Sebastian Silva's short film, Dolfun, that played at Sundance in the Shorts 2 program. Applegate began working with Silva through Killer Films on the 2015 feature Nasty Baby.

Former Stony Brook / Killer Films Student Wins Sundance Grant

Darcy Brislin, a 2013 graduate of the Stony Brook / Killer Films 20/20/20 program, won a Sundance Institute / Sloan Commissioning Grant, announced Jan. 27 at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

The grant was one of a slate of awards presented as part of the Sundance Institute Science-in-Film Initiative, made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. $60,000 in awards were presented.

Breslin and Dyana Winkler, co-writers of the film, Bell, will each receive a $12,500 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Bell is the true story of inventor Alexander Graham Bell, including the controversy surrounding his invention of the telephone and his lesser known work with eugenics and the deaf.

Brislin has developed screenplays with Sundance award-winning director Ondi Timoner, actor Maria Bello, and screenwriter Roger Wolfson. She was a selected participant for filmmaker programs at the Cannes, Berlinale and Telluride Festivals, and received a number of fellowships, including the Killer Films bootcamp led by Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler.

Four Killer Films Features Making Waves at Sundance

MFA in Film partner Killer Films has four films at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival that are gaining attention from the press and the film industry.

Goat, which Southampton MFA students screened and discussed as a test case in Fall 2015, stars Nick Jonas and is directed by Andrew Neel. It is based on Brad Land's 2004 memoir about a college freshman who is subjected to hazing when pledging his older brother's college fraternity. Read more in The Huffington Post, USA Today and Variety.

White Girl is directed by Elizabeth Wood, who was a visiting guest teaching artist as part of the MFA Program Master Class in Spring 2014. The "intense" and "provocative" film stars Morgan Saylor as a college girl who gets caught up a world of drugs and crime. Read more about it and Wood in The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and IndieWire.

Wiener-Dog is the latest from Todd Solondz (Happiness, Welcome to the Dollhouse) and follows the titular dachsund through a series of troubled owners. The comedy was purchased at Sundance by Amazon. Read more in IndieWire and The Verge.

Frank & Lola is a romantic noir from first-time feature director Matthew M. Ross and stars Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. Read more at IndieWire.

(Photo: Wiener-Dog, courtesy Sundance Film Festival)

Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler Give Keynote Producer's Lunch at Sundance

The power producers behind Carol, Still Alice and more gave an informative keynote speech at the festival's Producers Lunch, providing survival tips for producing.

Details are at IndieWire

2015

Watch How to Create a Killer Resume, the Web Series Created by MFA in FIlm Students

Shot in the Dogme tradition, the seven-episode web series was created this year by students in the MFA in Film program.

How to Write a Killer Resume is written and directed by Melissa Bank, Jill Campbell, Dejan Pavlovic, Tonilyn Sideco, Brad Becker-Parton, Borna Jafari, and Patricia Marx. Starring Juliet Garrett, Shaun Licata, David Rysdahl, Ying Ying Li, Mustafa Gatollari & April Armstrong, and produced with the help of Richie Duque, Lenny Crooks, and Magdalene Brandeis.

The Dogme brotherhood, which included acclaimed Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, took a “vow of chastity” that included limiting themselves to natural lighting, no added sound, and only those props that were available at their chosen location. Read more about the production of the series in The East Hampton Star.

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The Wrap: Christine Vachon, Todd Haynes Look to Break Oscar Barrier with 'Carol'

Killer Films co-founder and producer Christine Vachon and director Todd Haynes are indie film icons but neither has been nominated for an Academy Award, something that could change with Carol.

The Wrap talks about the duo possibly breaking the streak with the celebrated and raved-about film, which received six Film Independent Spirit Award nominations on Dec. 1. Carol was nominated for Best Feature, Best Director (Haynes), Best Female Lead (Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara), Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

Carol was nominated for three Gotham Independent Film Awards, including Best Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Blanchett), but did not win when the awards were presented on Nov. 30.

Christine Vachon Interviews FIlmmaker Effie Brown

In exclusive video, Vachon chats with the Project Greenlight producer on the challenges involved in filming stories about people of color.

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Christine Vachon Joins Five Other Prominent Filmmakers in “Producer’s Roundtable”

Killer Films' co-founder Vachon joins a lively conversation on Compton threats, Tarantino outbursts and the truth behind a Star Wars "firing" in a Hollywood Reporter roundtable also featuring Ice Cube, Scott Cooper, Steve Golin, Simon Kinberg and Stacey Sher.

Killer Films Is Honored at the Hamptons Film Festival

Killer Films' co-founders Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler were honored with the Hamptons Film Festival's industry award for 20 years of innovative, risky movies and for championing unique voices in independent film. Killer Films has produced movies like Boys Don't Cry; Kids; Still Alice, which made its U.S. premiere on the closing night of last year's Hamptons Film Festival; and the most recent, Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

Video: Mary Harron on How to Get Films Made Regardless of the Budget

At Indiewire, director Mary Harron talks about Killer Films' Christine Vachon's philosophy of "adapting the aesthetic of the film to fit the budget."

Horizon Award for Young Female Directors to Launch Second Annual Indiegogo Campaign

The award was founded by indie film producers Cassian Elwes ('Dallas Buyers Club'), Lynette Howell ('Mississippi Grind') and Christine Vachon ('Carol'). Read more in The Hollywood Reporter.

Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler Talk 'Carol' and Indie Resilience with The Hollywood Reporter

Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about their latest film, Todd Haynes' Carol, which could mark the company's biggest commercial and critical success yet. From the story, available here:

"(Killer Films) runs an MFA program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where Vachon urges students to banish the word "filmmaker" from their vocabularies. "We have to call ourselves storytellers, content-makers," she says, echoing a central talking point from her South by Southwest keynote talk in March. "If you want to go into the business today, you have to be prepared to make your stories work on all different kinds of platforms."

Killer Films Duo Named to the Gotham 60: Influential New Yorkers in Entertainment and Media

Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, co-founders of Killer Films, were named to Variety's "Gotham 60: Influential New Yorkers in Entertainment and Media"

Japanese Online Magazine Profiles Southampton's MFA in Film Program

The Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Film program is drawing international attention! The program has now been featured in HEAPS, an online Japanese magazine.

Cannes: 'Carol' Producers Christine Vachon, Elizabeth Karlsen Challenge StereotypesProducers Christine Vachon and Elizabeth Karlsen took part in a Women in Motion talk at the Majestic Hotel at Cannes, and proceeded to challenge the stereotypes that are often used to limit both women filmmakers and the movies they are given a chance to make. Read the complete story in The Hollywood Reporter, which includes video of Vachon and Karlsen.

Salma Hayek, Aishwarya Rai and Parker Posey Join Christine Vachon to Hit Back at Gender InequalityThe trio of actresses joined producers Christine Vachon and Elizabeth Karlsen in calling for greater gender equality in film at a forum at the Cannes Film Festival organized by Variety and the United Nations Women's HeForShe campaign. Read more in The Guardian here.

Exclusive Video: Todd Haynes Shares Tips for First-Time FilmmakersThe Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There director's Cannes-bound film, Carol, functioned as a real-time case study for students in the Stony Brook Graduate Film Program.

WATCH THE VIDEO >

Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler Among Variety's Top New York Women in Entertainment

Variety's New York Women's Impact Report has been released and it includes Killer Films and Stony Brook MFA Film Program's Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler. The report spotlights innovators, overachievers and executives in the New York entertainment business.

Killer Films' 'Carol' Named to 2015 Cannes Film Festival Lineup

'Carol,' a new film directed by Todd Haynes and produced by Killer Films and Stony Brook's MFA Film Program Director Christine Vachon, has been named to the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Read more in VARIETY.

SXSW: The 8 Best Things Christine Vachon Said at Her Keynote

Film program director Christine Vachon delivered the final keynote of the 2015 SXSW Film Festival. Read highlights from her address here. (Indiewire, March 17, 2015)

Award-Winning Writer-Director Ed Burns Shares Filmmaking Tips in Exclusive Video

In an exclusive video, produced by Stony Brook University in partnership with Indiewire, director and actor Ed Burns talks shifting distribution models, social media marketing and directing actors. (Feb. 26, 2015) Watch the video here.

Julianne Moore Oscar Nod a Box Office Boon Says 'Still Alice' Producer

Christine Vachon speaks with The Street about how an Oscar win by Julianne Moore would be a box office blessing for a small independent film like 'Still Alice.' Vachon spoke about the MFA in Film program, saying:

The program kind of grew out of the fact that I had taught at quite a few film schools, both on the graduate and undergraduate level. And what I was seeing was that students were not being prepared for this new world. They weren’t being prepared for this new world where you sort of have to reinvent yourself constantly, and be an artist and an entrepreneur. So we decided to take the old model, and try to make it as based in reality as we could. And also do something affordable. I mean, our MFA at Stony Brook is an affordable MFA. We would like our students to be able to come out and work in film if they want to and not be in crushing debt. The other great thing about our program is how hands on it is – you know at least three of our students got to work on Still Alice, for example, so – hopefully – they can say they worked on an Oscar-winning movie.

View the full video interview here. (Feb. 18, 2015)

SXSW Reveals Christine Vachon as Keynote (Indiewire, Feb. 17, 2015)

SXSW: Producer Christine Vachon to Serve as Keynote Speaker (The Hollywood Reporter, Feb. 17, 2015)

Indie Film Producers and Stony Brook: Partners (East Hampton Star, Feb. 17, 2015)

Christine Vachon discusses the MFA in Film program with the Star:

I had been thinking a lot about how these institutions weren’t really preparing students to earn a living. It’s the old academic issue, there are so many people teaching you who haven’t actually done the thing they’re teaching you how to do. I thought there was a real opportunity here for me and Killer to do an M.F.A. program that really turns all that on its head.

One of the interesting things about our program is that there are people of all different ages and experience levels,” Ms. Vachon said. “The faculty consists of people who are in the field, who are really giving students a blow-by-blow as the world unfolds. Another thing that was so appealing about Stony Brook is that it’s affordable.

Read the full story here.

In 'Still Alice,' Director Couple Tells A Story That Mirrors Their Own

Co-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland shared with NPR their own story, one that parallels that of the film. Read more at NPR.com.

Berlin: ‘Nasty Baby’ Takes Teddy Award, ‘My Skinny Sister’ Picks Up Kplus Prize

Southampton film student Jeanne Applegate has an editor credit on Nasty Baby, which was featured at the Berlin Film Festival. Read the story at Variety.com.

Alexandra Stergiou Has Video Featured on This American Life

Former film student Alexandra Stergiou was one of the directors of photography for the first video in This American Life's online series, "Videos 4 U."

The video, "I Love You," premiered on the This American Life YouTube channel on February 12, 2015, and was featured in The New York Times article, "Would an Emoticon Have Taken Eight Years?"

The "Videos 4 U" series seeks people who have a personal message that they wanted help delivering.

Ms. Stergiou — pictured at right along with former Southampton Arts film student Jason Evans — helped tell the story of Maia Leppo and Alex Kobzik, who have been in an eight-year relationship but had not said the words "I love you" to each other. The video was Ms. Leppo's way of telling Mr. Kobzik how she felt.

The video was made by Bianca Giaever and This American Life with m ss ng p eces.

Watch the video here:

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State Education Department Approves First-Ever Film MFA For Stony Brook Southampton (The Southampton Press, Feb. 10, 2015)

PBS NewsHour interviews Christine Vachon in report from the Sundance Film Festival

Christine Vachon is featured in a report by Jeffrey Brown on what an indie movie deal means in the age of on-demand.

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Deadline Talks with Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler About 20 Years in Indie Films

Deadline's Dominic Patten interviewed Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler at the recent Sundance Film Festival about Killer Films and its "20 solid years as an indie powerhouse."

From the article:

"To help the next generation of filmmakers navigate some of those landmines, the duo started a Masterclass program with Stony Brook University a few years back. Like some of the lessons from Vachon's books Shooting To Killer and A Killer Life, the six-hour workshop teaches the skills for getting a film made and getting it seen. "Part of the reason we started this program is because we feel like there's a lot of young filmmakers that are not getting the tools they need in the films schools to really enter this new world," says Vachon.

Adds Koffler: "One thing we tell young filmmakers frequently, especially the ones in our program, is you really have to be much more entrepreneurial now as a storyteller and wear a lot of different kinds of hats. Filmmakers do themselves no favors when they don’t really learn about that side of the business."

Read the complete story HERE.

Maria Shriver Spotlights the Women Who Made 'Still Alice'

Maria Shriver, one of the executive producers of the Golden Globe winning and Oscar-nominated film Still Alice, shined the spotlight on the women who made Still Alice, including our own Pamela Koffler, and how the film takes aim at defeating Alzheimer's Disease.

SBU Film Students Credited for Work on Award-Winning Still Alice

Three Stony Brook University film students were credited participants in the full-length film Still Alice, nominated today for a 2014 Academy Award® for “Best Actress in a Leading Role” and winner of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globe Award for “Best Actress,” for Julianne Moore

Killer Films' Still Alice Nets Golden Globe Win with Julianne Moore

Still Alice, a movie co-produced by Stony Brook-connected Killer Films, picked up a Golden Globe for Best Lead Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) in the annual awards ceremony televised Sunday evening.

The honor went to Julianne Moore, who portrays a woman afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease in the prime of her life.

Killer Films was co-founded by legendary producer and indie film powerhouse Christine Vachon, a Stony Brook faculty member who directs the graduate film program at Stony Brook Southampton.

2014

The Dogme95 Avante-Garde Filmmaking Movement Lives On

The Dogme95 avante-garde filmmaking movement is alive again at Southampton Arts thanks to Stony Brook/Killer Films. Read more in the East Hampton Star and at 27 East.com

Lauren Wolkstein Talks Stony Brook Southampton and Killer Films’ 20/20/20 Filmmaking Intensive

Sarah Salovaara talks with Lauren Wolkstein, one of Filmmaker Magazine's 2013 25 New Faces of Film, about the Southampton filmmaking workshop and the significance of pedagogy in filmmaking. Read more at Filmmaker Magazine here.

Todd Haynes Greets Filmmakers at Stony Brook Southampton

Filmmakers participating in the Stony Brook Southampton’s summer shorts 20-day intensive production workshop were given a warm welcome on Monday with an opening discussion with Todd Haynes, the director of “Far from Heaven,” “Velvet Goldmine,” “I’m Not There,” “Mildred Pierce,” “Safe,” and many other original and provocative films.

Read the complete story at the East Hampton Star here.

Program News

Newsletter

Film Program News

2026

April 2026 - Dual Milestones Hit - Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Stony Brook Film MFA and 30th Anniversary of Christine Vachon's Killer Films

February 2026 - SBU Alumni Ethan Scarduzio Directs Super Bowl Commercial

February 2026 - MFA in Film Alum Vu Nguyen Hoang Presents at Southeast Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities

January 2026 - Margarita Mina Earns National Recognition for Short Film ‘Baby Fat’

2025

August 4, 2025 - Killer Films Reflects on 30 Years of Filmmaking

July 10, 2025 - Christine Vachon Talks About Cynism and AI in the Industry

June 23, 2025 - Alumni Peggy Tseng Showcases Thesis Feature at Tribeca Creators Market

June 4, 2025 - Stony Brook University’s MFA in Film Program Celebrates 10 Years of Collaboration with Killer Films

March 24, 2025 - Film Alumni Work on Feature “Ugly Ducklings” in Goshen, New York

March 3, 2025 -Faculty Simone Pero’s “LILLY” Gets Theatre Premiere Date from Blue Harbor Entertainment

2024

Killer Films’ “A Different Man” Wins Best Feature at 2024 Gotham Awards

Alumna Peggy Tserwen Tseng Profiled on Bold Journey

Producing Faculty Simone Pero Sends Two Major Projects To Premieres This Fall

Faculty Member Jennie Allen Begins Filming on "111"

MFA Thesis Students Makes Program History by Filming in Puerto Rico

MFA Students Get Sneak Peek at "A Different Man"

‘Past Lives’ Earns Killer Films Best Feature at Independent Spirit Awards

The Artistic Director of Stony Brook’s MFA in Film and TV Writing Program is co-founder of Killer Films

2023

Killer Films Lead 2024 Independent Spirit Awards with 10 Nominations for “May December” and “Past Lives”

Award-Winning Alumna Returns from Korea to Direct New Feature Film

Film Thesis Director Pioneers first University/Production Company Co-Production

Killer Films' May December Earns Standing Ovation at Cannes, Gets Netflix Deal

MFA in Film Artistic Director Christine Vachon Talks About the State of the Independent Film from Cannes

Two Shrihari Sathe Films Opening on May 19

Alum Yasmine Gomez Line Produced Netflix Doc on Immigrant Families

2022

November 3 NYC Screening of Documentary Savage Land, Featuring Cinematography by MFA Faculty Niav Conty

2021

Eugina Gelbelman Feature Premieres at Austria's Fright Nights Festival

Lisa Thomas Video 'Candy Store' Wins Munich Music Video Award

Micah Demby Wins Turner Research Award

Tom of Your Life Is a Multiple Festival Winner

2020

Stony Brook Adds First MFA in Television Writing in the SUNY System

Student Lisa Thomas Directs Long-Form Video 'Candy Store'

Conor Demmett and Zhuoga Renqing Take First Prize in SUNY PACC

Jared Szafman Wins Page Award for Drama Pilot Script

John Kim Short Selected to Asian American International Film Festival

Chris Arnold's Script, 'Cornerstone', Wins Best Student Script Award

Halofsky's 'Going Out of Business' Wins Award at Women's Comedy Film Festival

Documentary Executive Produced by Simone Pero wins Gracie Award

2019

North Fork TV Fest Announces Second Annual TV Pilot Competition Winners

Levitt Pilot Script Wins First Place at Nantucket Film Festival

MFA Student Shorts Featured in 2 Film Festivals

MFA in Film Grad Juhyoung Ra Screens New Film at Joenju Film Festival

Simone Pero Is Redefining the Meaning of 'Impact'

2018

Soo Hugh Joins TV Writing Program Guest Series on November 5

TV Writing Guest Series Begins September 24 with 'Power' Showrunner Gary Lennon

Levitt Wins Inaugural North Fork TV Fest TV Pilot Competition

MFA in Film Student Eugina Gelbelman Receives New York Women in Film & Television HP Scholarship

Film Screening: Keep the Change

2017

2016

2015

Press Coverage

2025

Third-year SBU Film MFA student Margarita Mina's Baby Fat among 21 Best Filipino Films of 2025 by Rolling Stone Magazine

"And we’ve looked for affordable hidden gems like SUNY Stony Brook, where you can learn from one of the most prolific and successful producers in the business, Christine Vachon."

Killer Films’ 30th Anniversary Retrospective at New York’s Metrograph Through August 17

2024

Alumna Peggy Tserwen Tseng Interviewed by Bold Journey Magazine

FilmSchool.org Interviews Program Directors Alan Kingsberg and Magdalene Brandeis on "How to Get Into Stony Brook University"

Alumna from 202020, Dogme, and Screenwriting, Jill Campell, directs documentary about Jule Campell's career

Alumna Peggy Tserwen's Tseng talks about her thesis film, Miss Mermaid

2023

Killer Films' Past Lives Nominated for Best Picture at This Year's Golden Globes

Killer Films Land 10 Nominations From the Film Independent Spirit Awards

The Wrap Puts Christine Vachon on the Cover, Ranks Stony Brook 28th in Top US Film Schools

From Vanity Fair: Christine Vachon, Hollywood’s Greatest Anomaly

Christine Vachon honored at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Perry Blackshear to Direct Horror Feature Mindful Starring Jenny Slate