Diving into the creative world of Sergio Zaciu '20 (@sergiozaciu )! 🎥 From his early acting roots to directing, Sergio’s journey is anything but ordinary. Influenced by Romania’s film landscape and mentored by Cristian Mungiu, Sergio credits the intersection of acting, music, and photography in shaping his filmmaking vision. Swipe to dive into Sergio’s insights on telling true stories, having your screenplays ripped to shreds, and his exciting upcoming projects blending culture and comedy. Full story in our bio!
Multi-hyphenate filmmaker Josh Dasal ‘00 dives deep into genre in his podcast, SUBGENRE. Produced by Kaboonki, a media production company which Josh also founded, @subgenrepod is now in its 3rd season with each season featuring screenings and discussions on a new sub-genre––varying from films about submarines and thieves to time twisters! Swipe to hear Josh’s story on bringing SUBGENRE to life, and watch the full video at the link in our bio. 🎬✌️
What SCA is Watching: MFA Alum Craig Hammill ‘06 (@craighammill ) takes us on a journey through the macabre and the weird––from Lang to Lynch to Almadovar! Read more about Craig’s recs at the link in our bio.
Marisa Torelli-Pedevska (@thisisrisss ) is a 2022 MFA graduate of the USC Screenwriting Program. Having accumulated many awards for her scripts––notably, Take Me Home, won the USC Jay Roach award and her coming-of-age feature, Jesus Goes to Goodland, was a semi-finalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, placing in the top 140 scripts—Marisa is also the co-founder of Inevitable Foundation (@inevitablefoundation ), a nonprofit investing in disabled writers and filmmakers so they can achieve artistic and financial freedom. Read more about how Marisa’s journey through screenwriting has informed her role with the Inevitable Foundation at the link in our bio!
From the festival circuit to a feature film debut! 🎬 Jess Dang '12 is bringing her unique story to life in “Surrender” (@surrenderthefilm ). Jess discusses the origins of this personal story—a gambler struggling to stay clean after 100 days of abstinence—and how it is developing from a short film to a full-length movie. With the help of Film Independent's Fast-Track program and fellow USC alums, swipe to hear Jess's story of bringing her debut film to life!
What SCA is Watching: Kevin Yin (@y2.kev ), a rising senior in the Media Arts + Practice division, shares his occasionally frightening and universally dazzling recommendations for the Fall/Winter watching season! Read more about Kevin’s recommendations at the link in our bio.
@davidetalbert and @lynsissontalbert launch HBCU Next: a fellowship program that brings students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to take classes in the Summer Program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts! The program was conceived as an opporunity for talented storytellers from HBCU’s who might be considering graduate programs in the cinematic arts to gain exposure to the academic and practical practices of the industry. #fighton
The SCA Network wishes all @usccinema students an incredible first day of classes! As you step into the end of reality, know that you'll always have generations of Trojans in your corner✌️
Find out more about our student-alumni support group, SCA Network, at our link in bio!
#RealityEndsHere #FightOn
Build your portfolio and advance your interest in film through flexible online courses that allow you to work at your own pace! Write a script or direct a short film and earn a Certificate from USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Click the link in our bio to learn more and apply now!
As the summer blockbuster season winds down we catch up with Kailyn Bondoni, Office Coordinator for the department of Industry Relations in SCA. She discusses her summer highlights and personal favorites in the August edition of “What SCA is Watching”! Click the link in bio to read the full article and others in the series!
Heliya Alam ‘17 is a young Persian-American film director/producer who drives to tell emotional, character-driven stories focusing on the depth of the human experience. Having directed and produced several short films, one of which made it to Cannes Short Corner, her most recent work @thelist2089 is an intense drama that discusses mental health through the lens of science fiction. Now putting her full force and focus into developing feature films, swipe to see how Heliya’s journey at SCA helped her hone her skills as a director while making “The List”!
@nicholashatton ’09 is a twice Emmy-nominated television and film producer. He’s best known for producing Jury Duty (Freevee), recently nominated for four Emmys, as well as Who Is America? (Showtime) and Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon), which won the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy Feature. He founded Swindle Pictures in 2022 alongside Jason Woliner (director of Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm and Paul T. Goldman). Read more about Nicholas's journey in film and how he's become one of the most socially provocative television producers in the industry by clicking the link in bio!
