Fiction Filmmaking Capstone Class Premiers Short Film on April 24-25

After two semesters of immersive learning in film production, editing, and marketing, the 2023-2024 Fiction Filmmaking Capstone Class at Michigan State University will premiere its film, Feast Your Eyes, about the life of an amateur TV show producer who becomes captivated by his subject’s repressed hunger for human flesh. A team of 25 Fiction Filmmaking students brought their Film Studies…

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Fiction Filmmaking Capstone Class Premieres Short Film to Sold-Out Theatre

After two semesters of hands-on experience in film production, editing, and marketing, the 2023 Fiction Filmmaking Capstone Class at Michigan State University premiered its short film, Promises, Promises, to a sold-out theatre on May 3 at Studio C! in the Meridian Mall. An on-campus screening also took place on May 4 at Wells Hall and was followed by a Q&A session with the cast and crew as well as a behind-the-scenes video of the making of the short film.

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Graduating Senior Reflects on Film Studies Education at MSU

Madeline Strong is graduating from Michigan State University in Spring 2023 with a B.A. in Film Studies. During her time at MSU, she gained experience working as a videographer for MSU's Culinary Services and for the MSU Student Organic Farms. Strong took some time, as she prepares for graduation, to answer questions about her Film Studies education at MSU.

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College of Arts & Letters Faculty Honored at 2022 Investiture

The Michigan State University community gathered at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts on Sept. 14 for the investiture of the 2022 class of endowed chairs, endowed professors, and MSU Foundation professors. The ceremony was a celebration of their accomplishments and a celebration of the philanthropic support that makes these esteemed positions possible.  Dr. Kristen Renn, newly named Mildred B.…

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Conversations with CAL on the Timnick Chair, Humanities, Filmmaking, and Black Art

As a filmmaker, screenwriter, and educator, Wray has served as a core faculty member in MSU’s Film Studies program since 2002, developing and teaching courses in film directing, screenwriting, and narrative film fiction, as well as in African American cinema and cinema of the African Diaspora. In addition, he is an accomplished filmmaker whose features and short films have been screened in the United States and abroad, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Dakar, Zurich, Berlin, and Athens. 

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Professor Jeff Wray Appointed Timnick Chair in the Humanities

Jeffrey Wray, Department of English Professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies, was appointed the next Timnick Chair in the Humanities, effective August 16, 2021. Wray is the second MSU faculty member to hold the position, which was endowed in 2015 by MSU alumnus and retired businessman Henry O. Timnick in honor of his mother, Ottilie Schroeter Timnick, to reflect her belief in the value and promise of a liberal arts education.

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Fiction Filmmaking Class Overcomes Many Obstacles to Complete Film

Resilient – that is the word to describe the students of the 2019-2020 Fiction Filmmaking Capstone class, who faced countless obstacles this past academic year, but each time they were knocked down, they stood up and figured out a way to move forward. Students in this capstone course spend the fall and spring semesters producing an original film in order…

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English Professors Use Film and Comics to Engage Students in American History

Jeff Wray and Julian Chambliss, two distinguished professors from Michigan State University's Department of English, joined Russ White on WKAR's MSU Today to talk about their work and how it impacts their students and our evolving society. The conversation began with their thoughts on a challenging time for racial tension on campus. “It has been a challenging year, but in some ways, it's been a typical…

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Faculty Members to Receive All-University Awards

Four College of Arts & Letters faculty members will receive All-University Awards on Tuesday, February 5, during a special ceremony held at the Heritage Room of the University Club from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.           The awards and the winners are: William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award – Jeff Wray, Professor, Department of EnglishTeacher-Scholar Award – Deric McNish, Assistant Professor, Department…

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Eight Student-Produced Short Films Featured at Traverse City Film Fest

This year’s Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF), which runs July 31-August 5, will feature several Michigan State University student-produced short films.  On Saturday, August 4, at noon at Old Town Playhouse, 148 E Eighth Street, Traverse City, a collection of eight short films from College of Arts & Letters and College of Communication Arts and Sciences students will be shown. The screening is free and…

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