News Release

Local angles: Charlotte, Hendersonville, Hope Mills

Communication studies students
to show films at Casablanca festival

CHAPEL HILL – Three communication studies majors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are slated to show original films at the International Video Art Festival, which begins Sunday (March 19) in Casablanca, Morocco.

Seniors Courtney Garcia, John David Devirgiliis and Matthew E. Cunningham will present their works at what UNC communications studies professor Francesca Talenti says is the only video art festival in Africa and the Arab world.

Talenti was the first American filmmaker to present her work at the festival two years ago. This year, the U.S. embassy in Rabat, Morocco, invited her to select three university students to attend the festival, which runs through March 25. Students were chosen through a competitive process by a communication studies department team in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Garcia, of Hendersonville, will present her documentary, "The Way Out." The film focuses on two aspiring musicians in South Central Los Angeles, Angela and Carmen, who are the daughters of a crack dealer/pimp and one of his prostitutes. The film chronicles Angela and Carmen’s journey through five months as they break free from their father.

Devirgiliis, of Charlotte, will present five pieces at the festival: "Life in the Gutter," "Haunted," "The Laugher," an untitled chase sequence and "Carolina Clay." Four of the pieces are live action narrative shorts and one is a clay animation. The overall theme for the pieces is transition.

Cunningham, of Hope Mills, will present "Dreamland’s Spine: A Love Story." The project, which came to fruition in an experimental video class, addresses the idea of love as an aspect of collective memory. It follows the lives of two people through experiences that shaped their views on relationships.

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College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589