Date:
July 20, 2008
Time: 4:30PM
Location: Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall
Time: 4:30PM
Location: Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall
SCA Alumni Screening Series Presents: FROZEN RIVER
4:30PM on Sunday, July 20th
Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall
Followed by a Q&A with director Courtney Hunt and actresses Melissa Leo & Misty Upham, moderated by LA Weekly film critic Ella Taylor
MAKE A RESERVATION
Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall
Followed by a Q&A with director Courtney Hunt and actresses Melissa Leo & Misty Upham, moderated by LA Weekly film critic Ella Taylor
MAKE A RESERVATION
2008 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL GRAND JURY PRIZE (DRAMATIC) WINNER!!!
ABOUT FROZEN RIVER
Frozen River is the story of Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo), an upstate New York trailer mom, who smuggles illegal immigrants from Canada into the United States over a Mohawk Indian Reservation. Normally a timid and reserved woman, Ray begins smuggling illegal immigrants as the only way to keep her family together after her husband takes off with the family’s down-payment for their new doublewide dream home. In order to make the money in time, Ray teams up with a Mohawk smuggler, Lila Littlewolf, and the two begin making runs across the frozen St. Lawrence River carrying illegal Chinese and Pakistani immigrants in the trunk of Ray’s Dodge Spirit. At the onset, Ray and Lila’s partnership seems doomed to failure as Lila normally doesn’t “work with whites,” but Lila’s eagerness to get her baby son back from her mother-in-law who has “stolen” him, lead Lila and Ray into an uneasy partnership. Rated R for some language, running time: 97min. Releases on Friday, August 1st, 2008.
To learn more about the film and to view the trailer, click here.
Print provided courtesy of Sony Pictures Classic.
ABOUT THE GUESTS
Courtney Hunt (Director) holds an MFA from Columbia University’s Film Division. Her thesis film, Althea Faught, a short about the American Civil War, which she wrote and directed, was purchased by PBS in 1996 and aired on American Playhouse. It screened in film festivals including the Tribeca First Look Series, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Montreal Festival des Film du Monde, and the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. Hunt’s second short film, Frozen River, premiered in the New York Film Festival in September, 2004 and went on to screen at numerous other festivals, including Los Angeles, Nashville, Williamstown, and the American Indian Film Festival. Hunt also holds a law degree from Northeastern University and a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
Melissa Leo (Actor, "Ray") has been a working actor for more than 20 years and is most widely known for her portrayal of Detective Kay Howard on Homicide: Life on the Streets. Leo studied Drama at Mount View Theatre School in London, England and later at the SUNY Purchase Acting Program. Among her works are The Young Riders, The 'L' Word, 21 Grams, Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and Hollywood Dreams.
Misty Upham (Actor, "Lila"), born in Kallispell, Montana, grew up in south Seattle, the fourth of five children. She began her career at the age of thirteen when she joined a community theater group, Red Eagle Soaring. What began as a summer workshop soon turned into a full-time job. By the age of fourteen she was writing and directing short skits and performing on tours throughout the northwest. In the next four years she would be accepted to several Seattle theater companies, all while attending high school. Her first break came in 2001 when she landed the role of Mrs. Blue Cloud in Chris Eyre's sophomore project Skins,where she portrayed a victim of domestic abuse on the Pine Ridge reservation. Upham's additional credits include: Eyre’s Edge of America, Rick Stevenson’s Expiration Date, ABC’s Dreamkeeper and also starred in her same role as Lila across Melissa Leo in the short, Frozen River.
ABOUT CHECK-IN & RESERVATIONS
This screening is presented free of charge and is open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. The theater will be OVERBOOKED to ensure capacity and the RSVP list will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis, with no reserved seating. Please bring a photo ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will be automatically sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Check-in will begin at approximately 4:00PM.
ABOUT PARKING
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 850 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes are available for Parking Structure D and Lots M & V (across the street from the George Lucas Building) for $8.00. You must pull into Gate 5, located at the intersection of McClintock Ave. and W Jefferson Boulevard and purchase your parking pass with the booth attendant. Street parking is also available along W Jefferson Blvd.
This screening is presented free of charge and is open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. The theater will be OVERBOOKED to ensure capacity and the RSVP list will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis, with no reserved seating. Please bring a photo ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will be automatically sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Check-in will begin at approximately 4:00PM.
ABOUT PARKING
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 850 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes are available for Parking Structure D and Lots M & V (across the street from the George Lucas Building) for $8.00. You must pull into Gate 5, located at the intersection of McClintock Ave. and W Jefferson Boulevard and purchase your parking pass with the booth attendant. Street parking is also available along W Jefferson Blvd.
To view the full schedule of films during the Alumni Screening Series, click here.
Contact Information:
Alessandro Ago
213.740.2804
aago@cinema.usc.edu
| Associated Person: | Alessandro Ago |
