Casey Cooper

I graduated from the College Of Staten Island, June 06 from the Department of Media Culture. I received my degree, BA of Arts, shortly there after. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience, not only because of my peers, but its the intricacy of my courses that maintained my focus. Among them were various Film Production classes, Film Theory, 3rd World Cinema, Italian Cinema, and my favorite, America Directors I & II. The aspect of Film I am interested in the most is writing which I am pursuing here in Los Angeles. Shortly after graduation I decided to aggressively pursue my career out here in Hollywood along with many other hopefuls. It's an amazing industry, tough but not impossible, to be a part of. Although I haven't sold anything in the short time I've been here I've just come off working as a Production Assistant in this past season of America's Next Top Model. I was able to meet so many amazing people in my field and it provided numerous connections and possibilities down the line. I was able to be a part of something, while not groundbreaking, brings me another step closer to my goal. These are the kinds of things that make you driven and proud, Don't ever give up!

Seth Friedman

I earned my M.A. in Cinema Studies from the Department of Media Culture at the College of Staten Island in May, 2004. Under the direction of Matthew Solomon, I completed a M.A. thesis entitled Pulling Back the Curtain: The Misdirection Film in its Contexts. An essay derived from the work I did in that thesis, entitled Cloaked Classification: The Misdirection Film and Generic Duplicity, is scheduled to be published in the Winter 2006 issue ( 58.4) of The Journal of Film and Video. I am currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University, Bloomington. My dissertation will be focused on an examination of the contemporary Hollywood misdirection film. The coursework that I completed at CSI and the mentorship that I received from the faculty continues to influence my work today. I cannot thank the Department of Media Culture enough for its support throughout the M.A. program and beyond.

Sarah Kuntoh
National Film and Television Institute
PMB,GPO
Accra Ghana
e-mail: skuntoh (at) hotmail (dot) com

Following my passion for the creative arts after High School I enrolled at
the National Film and Television Instiute for three years and pursued a
course in Film and Video Editing. I was employed as an Assistant Lecturer at
my alma mater in the Editing Department. Rising through the ranks I had the
opportunity to to teach areas in editing alongside working as editor on a
number of productions which included among others documentaries
commissioned by the Johns Hopkins University on HIV/AIDS and teenage
pregnancy.

In 1997 I had the opportunity to be a part of a UNESCO sponsored
workshop in Lusaka, Zambia to train young people in Basic Videography
alongside four other resource persons from other African countries.
In 2000, I won a Fulbright scholarship and had the opportunity to read
my Masters at the College of Staten Island for two years. Whilst at CSI,
under great tutelage I read courses such as Studies in Genre, National
Cinema, Major Directors, Experimental Cinema, Research Analysis, Cinema and
Ideology, and Film Theory and Criticism. I completed with a Masters' thesis
titled RACE REPRESENTATION IN CINEMA: THE WESTERN AND AFRICAN
PERSPECTIVES with an MA in Cinema Studies.

After completion of studies I returned home and still had my job as
lecturer at the film institute. Due to my newly acquired knowledge I was
asked to teach Film Aesthetics for LEVELS 300 & 400 for almost two years. I
still lecture the course in addition to the other courses in editing which I
teach to LEVELS 100 and 200. I also do a Screening Analysis with the entire
students body on every other Wednesday afternoon during the first semester.
I am planning to embark on two research projects: Why the cinema-going
culture has lost its value in Ghana?; and the Evolution of Ghanaian Cinema
since Indepaendence and the way forward. The first one is what am gathering
information on presently.The other project that I'm working on is an Academic
Journal with a colleague of mine who is finishing his phD in Film Studies.
The Institute's URL is www.nafti.edu.gh

David Maltz

Since graduating from CSI with a BS in Communications, I have moved on to Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts to study Print and Multimedia Journalism. Many of the Communications classes I took at CSI helped prepare me for the coursework I am doing now. COM 277 –Intro to Journalism and COM 450 – Senior Seminar, directly tie in to the work I am doing in my first semester of graduate school. The numerous design courses I took at CSI also help me now with our projects.

http://www.emerson.edu/journalism/graduate/index.cfm
http://pages.emerson.edu/Courses/fall06/Jr600a/David_Maltz/ADayintheLifeofaHomelessShelter.htm

Michael Sgalambro
B.A. Cinema 2006
www.halfemptyproductions.com

My studies at and internship through CSI really prepared me for my job in the production world. The classes I took for my Cinema Studies degree (both production and theory) really helped me understand what I am looking at and how media production is put together. The internship I took in my final semester was the most beneficial part of the program. Under the advisement of Professor Gerstner I worked as a production assistant on NBC's short-lived television program, Conviction. My main work was in the production office which is the heart of making a television program because everything filters through this office (from shooting and location permits to contracts and scripts). Though the show was canceled I met some terrific people, especially my boss who showed me the entire range of what is involved in television production. I became good friends with my boss who, after we wrapped Conviction, asked me during the summer if I wanted a 'real' job. I am now a Production Assistant for NBC's comedy, 30 Rock. I am working with the same group of people I met on my internship. While it is stressful sometimes, it is a great job. CSI was really important for me in getting this job. If I didn't have this job or the background I learned in college, I'd be working somewhere less exciting. I have always loved the entertainment business and now I am in the middle of it.

Stephanie Ward

After attending CSI for four and a half years, I finally completed all of my degree requirements for a B.A. in Cinema Studies in January of 2006. It was not until the commencement exercises in June that I truly had to prepare for that next step into my future. Since August, I have been working as a freelance media planner for Nicktoons Network. As a Cinema Studies major, media planning is quite new to me.

Fortunately, in my last year at CSI, I did two internships: a programming/acquisitions internship for Nicktoons Network and a production internship for MTV2's High School Stories: Scandals, Pranks and Controversies. While courses like the History and Theory of Film, American Myth and Film, and the many other history, theory and production classes do not directly relate to what I am doing in my current position, these courses certainly helped me understand the power media has to expose, shape and define our culture.
The combination of my internships and my courses enabled me to get my foot in the proverbial door, actually get inside, and (for now anyway) stay inside.

Djordjije Lekovic

Djordjije Lekovic graduated from CSI in 2004 with high honors (Magna Cum Laude + Elliot Rubenstein Memorial Award for Academic excellence). He started working soon after receiving his BA, but still completed a good part of the Media Department’s MA curriculum.

Over the past three years, Djordjije has worked in various fields. As an editor he helped top NY ad agencies win prestigious awards (Clios, the One Show and competition in Cannes). As a Director of Photography and Stedicam Operator he completed numerous short pieces, TV pilots, documentaries and five feature films. Most recently, he took the opportunity to direct and shoot a 35mm feature film with name actors. The film Polycarp, starring Charles Durning and Michael Pare will premier as the opening film of the 2007 Hoboken International Film Festival.

Djordjije is also the Managing Director and Founder of KinoKamera, a creative film company that draws individuals from various disciplines to solve problems and create fresh and original ideas. Djordjije has often lectured at the School of Visual Arts and has exhibited internationally, including at the New Moment Gallery (former Satchi&Satchi) in Belgrade, Serbia.

Currently he is finishing post-production on Polycarp, preparing to direct a low budget comedy feature over the summer, and signing up to shoot a mid-budget drama in September.