Burlington College Graduates Crew Top 2008 Sundance Film Festival Four graduates from Burlington College's Film School worked on three major films selected for screening at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, including the winner of the prestigious festival's Grand Jury Prize. Burlington College graduates Nathan Beaman (2005), Adam Lukens (2006), Justine Bennett (2006) and Georgia Pantazopoulos (2007) with Matt Tanner who also took courses at the college worked closely with Cinematographer Reed Morano as part of the camera and electrical crew of Frozen River, shot on location in upstate New York near the border with Quebec. Directed by Courtney Hunt and starring Melissa Leo (21 Grams, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada) and Academy Award-nominee Michael O'Keefe (The Great Santini, Caddyshack, Ironweed) Frozen River tells the story of a struggling single mother who teams with a Mohawk woman to smuggle people across the Canadian border. In awarding the film the Grand Jury Prize, jury member Quintin Tarantino said, "It took my breath away and then somewhere around the last hour, it put my heart in a vice and proceeded to twist that vice until the last frame.” Nathan Beaman and Adam Lukens also worked on Sugar and Choke, two other films nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 festival. Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, whose Academy-Award-nominated film Half Nelson won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Sugar is the story of a baseball player from the Dominican Republic who, inspired by the famous movie Field of Dreams, comes to America to play minor league baseball in Iowa. Directed by actor Clark Gregg, Choke is the adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name. Nathan Beaman began his filmmaking career while still enrolled in college. In 1995 he founded Urban Rhino, a multimedia production and consulting firm. A skilled cinematographer and editor, Nate has has received numerous awards for his work, and was recently featured on the Redrock Micro website for his work with the company's revolutionary M2 lens adaptor. Recently, Nathan Beaman has also worked editing footage of various political candidates, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, for a series of web videos called Walk a Day in My Shoes. They feature each presidential candidate shadowing a service worker - Clinton, a nurse; Obama, a home-care aide; Joe Biden, a janitor. Nathan is an active member of I.A.T.S.E. local 481 and an Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Trainer. He teaches non-linear editing at Burlington College. Adam Lukens has worked in the camera and electrical department of over 24 feature films and television shows since graduating in Burlington College in 2005, including 10 films in 2008 alone. Lukens also played the role of Mitch in Frozen River. Justin Bennett graduated from Burlington College in 2006. He crewed on the 2005 television series Breaking Vegas and two features in 2008 in addition to Frozen River. For her senior degree project, Georgia Pantazopoulos worked with Connecticut hip-hop duo H.U.S.HH (which stands for Help us Save Hip Hop) to create a music video based on their song Shut This Down about the origins, downfall and rise of hip hop culture. Georgia is credited on six features, has been in production on four more, and is a member in the grip union. She has set up her own production company, all before she graduated last December. “The Film School at Burlington College offers one of the premiere film production programs in northern New England,” said Barry Snyder, Chair of the department. “Founded on the principle of film as a vehicle for personal expression and communication, and sensitive to the democratic potential of new digital media,” he continued, “the program offers a range of opportunities for students interested in understanding the mediums of film and digital video, in learning the technical skills involved in making movies, and in applying these skills to a variety of possible ends.” With its strong associations with Vermont filmmakers, festivals, organizations, and events, the film program offers students extensive opportunities to become involved in an active and growing film community. “Students also benefit from a close-knit and supportive alumni network who go out of their way to make the important introductions,” said Burlington College President Jane O’Meara Sanders. “Our graduate’s state-of-the-art skills, creative talent and excellent work-ethic pave the way for future Burlington College alums.” Burlington College, an independent, progressive, liberal arts College located in Burlington, Vermont, is known nationally for its Film School. Tailored to a variety of student needs and interests, the Film School at Burlington College offers certificate programs in Film Production, Documentary Filmmaking, and Screenwriting, an Associate of Arts Degree in Film Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree program in Cinema Studies and Film Production. Burlington College’s mission is to prepare students to become skillful and reflective practitioners, lifelong learners, and thoughtful, active citizens engaged in fostering a just, humane society and sustainable, beautiful communities. The College integrates learning, personal development, and community engagement, and emphasizes the dynamic relationship between education and experience.
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