Sedona Film School Alumna Wins Carnegie Medal
Sedona Film School Alumna Wins Carnegie Medal
Katja Torneman’s thesis film “Anna, Emma and the Condors” recognized for Excellence.
Sedona Film School (SFS) graduate, Katja Torneman, writer / director / producer of “Anna, Emma and the Condors,” is the 2013 recipient of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in children’s video. The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced the award during the ALA Midwinter Meeting held in Seattle, Washington.
Established with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Carnegie Medal honors an outstanding American video production for children released during the previous year. The award is administered by ALSC and was awarded for the first time in 1991. Over 5,000 members attend the conference and 13,000 watch the awards webcast.
Anna and Emma, along with their parents, work to bring the amazing and magnificent California condor back from the brink of extinction. The girls are articulate and caring, sometimes silly and alwaysengaging as they assist their parents with this important work in the remote Vermillion Cliffs area of the Grand Canyon.
This is a thought-provoking and visually splendid film, as special as the children and birds at its heart. The portrait of a familyliving with intention features breathtaking photography and dramatic use ofmusic. Viewers are left with a sense of splendor and hope. A wonderful story brought to life through the eyes of a child.
“Children will be inspired to see the ways that their peers, a pair of enthusiastic, very real girls, are living in partnership with the earth and doing what they can to make an important difference,” said Carnegie Medal/Notable Children’s Videos Committee Chair Maeve Visser Knoth.
Video productions that receive the Andrew Carnegie Medal meet criteria that include the following: they show respect for a child’s intelligence and imagination, and reflect and encourage children’s interests; they take advantage of the special techniques of the medium, including visuals, voices, music, language, and sound effects; and, if adaptations of materials originally produced in other mediums, they remain true to, expand, or complement the work.
“Giving our students the education that allows them to create films which receive such wonderful recognition is truly satisfying.” Rue, SFS Director, continued, “Katja went through a total transformation from extreme rock climber to serious filmmaker, while attending SFS, and I am thrilled to see her efforts rewarded.”
The Sedona Film School is quickly gaining recognition and respect within the industry. Their hands-on approach leaves graduates ready to transition easily to the working environment of a movie set.
SedonaFilm School advisory board member and veteran producer, Jim Behnke, added, “A school that trains students through hands-on exercises is the best proving ground for people who are serious about working in this industry.”
The Sedona Film School will host a Film School Weekend Getaway on February 23, 2013. It is an opportunity to share the depth of the schools’ resources with the community. Important changes and updates to the curriculum will be explained.
The enhanced film school curriculum will give students more than 200 hours of on-set training during the nine-month certificate program. Students work closely with film industry professionals in a true apprenticeship environment.
The partnership withNorthern Arizona University (NAU) offers a minor in Independent Filmmaking,through coursework at Sedona Film School. Also, students whom attend SedonaFilm School can transfer their credits seamlessly into a bachelors program at NAU. Students may choose from a narrative or documentary track and in only nine months, they walk away with their own short film as a calling card.
The Sedona Film School is located at the Yavapai College Sedona Center for Arts and Technology, 4215 Arts Village Drive, Sedona, Arizona. Call Rue at (928) 649-4257 for more information. The film school is now accepting applications for fall 2013. To learn more about the Sedona Film School, please visit www.sedonafilmschool.com.
