SEAHAWK SNIPPETS
The Art of Filmmaking Having his first small, indie studio-produced project nominated for an Oscar remains surreal for Shaofu Zhang ’06. “To be there in that theater, among heroes and peers, was one of the most moving feelings I’ve ever had,” said Zhang, whose film One Small Step was nominated in the Short Film (Animated) category. The film tells a coming-of-age story about a young ChineseAmerican girl who dreams of being an astronaut. The short film took 13 months from story development to final cut and has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including 69 official festival selections, 29 festival awards and two jury awards, though it did not ultimately win an Oscar. “I think about my time at UNCW, the seed that was planted by the wonderfully supportive teachers whose passion for cinema was contagious,” Zhang said. “At UNCW, I fell in love with the art of film.” Zhang graduated from UNCW in 2006 with a bachelor of arts in film studies and a minor in creative writing. In 2017, he founded TAIKO Studios as an international company with offices in Los Angeles and Wuhan, China. The nomination is the first for a UNCW film studies graduate, said Mariana Johnson, chair and associate professor in the department. “Shaofu’s success reflects the fact that our alumni are capable of national – and even international – prominence.” The Film Studies Department continues to grow and produce talented filmmakers and scholars who are excelling in film and media professions, including Aaron Pinkston ’05, Elaine White ’07 and Ryan Kawamoto ’08, who each won an Emmy during the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony held May 5. Pinkston and Kawamoto are staff members of The Ellen DeGeneres Show; White is co-executive producer for Valerie’s Home Cooking. There are more good things to come for the Film Studies Department - two new graduate programs will launch in fall 2020; a master of arts in film studies and a master of fine arts in filmmaking. – Mary Ann Fearing ’19