RTF End-of-Semester Screenings – Fall 2022 (Day 4 of 4) – MFA Films

We are very excited to present this semester’s student work to the public. Sunday wraps up the 4-day program of free screenings and demonstrations with graduate films at the Texas Union Theatre, beginning with 1st year MFA documentaries at 2:3o, followed by a reception at 5 pm, and then finishing with two programs of MFA thesis films.

Sunday, 12/11

Texas Union Theatre (UNB 2.228)

2:30–5:00              MFA 1st Year Texas Documentaries • Nancy Schiesari, Anne Lewis

Texas Union Santa Rita Room (3.502)

5:00–6:00              MFA Reception

Texas Union Theatre (UNB 2.228)

6:00–7:45              MFA Thesis Block 1* – Films by Kenya Gillespie, Beibei Xu, Sinead Keirans, Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda, and Cristin Stephens

7:45–8:00              Intermission

8:00–9:45              MFA Thesis Block 2** – Films by Kathryn Van Buren, Sebastian Valdivieso, Andrew Neylon, Emily Grooms, and Alexander Rosales

Graduate Thesis Films

Marking the culmination of their MFA program, new and recent graduates Kenya Gillespie, Beibei Xu, Sinead Keirans, Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda, Stephens, Kathryn Van Buren, Sebastian Valdivieso, Andrew Neylon, Emily Grooms, and Alexander Rosales will screen their thesis films for the public on Sunday night, December 11, at 6 pm and 8 pm at the Texas Union Theater (UNB 2.228). The event is free and open to the community. Join us upstairs in the Santa Rita Room (UNB 3.502) immediately before the screenings at 5 pm for a light reception.

*MFA THESIS BLOCK 1 • 6 pm–7:45 pm

Kenya Gillespie / Give
16: 50 • Drama

A composer attempts to unravel the memories of his relationship with his classical singer ex-boyfriend.

Beibei Xu / Cats Don’t Sleep at Night
14: 27 • Drama

At a low point in her life, a young woman searches for light at the end of the tunnel, while her cat and boyfriend have been emotionally distant.

Sinead Keirans / Banned Book Club
16:00 • Documentary

A group of high schoolers seek to get banned books returned to classroom shelves in Central Texas.

Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda / Men in Blue
34:47 • Drama

Resistance brews among the Indian immigrants who were stripped of their dignity when a reputed shipyard in Texas conscripted them as guest workers to repair the oil rigs and ships damaged after Hurricane Katrina.

Cristin Stephens / Black Magic
13:11 • Drama

A diversity hire in a writer’s room contends with the expectations of her boss at the cost of her identity.

**MFA THESIS BLOCK 2 • 8 pm–9:45 pm

Kathryn Van Buren / The Third Bedroom
23:00 • Family Drama/Magical Realism

On a gloomy winter trip to help her father prepare their ancestral beach house for sale, little Isla illuminates some of the darkness that haunts the family tree.

Sebastian Valdivieso / Maria!
19:00 • Drama

When Marianita brings her own son, Ale, to her nanny job for a weekend, she discovers the boundaries of her love for Oli, the boy she’s been taking care of as her own during the weekdays.

Andrew Neylon / Godhead
19:30 • Sci-Fi Thriller

After years of searching, a guilt-ridden mother attempts to free her estranged son from a mysterious doomsday cult.

Emily Grooms / Julie Baby
16:16 • Coming-of-Age Drama

Whore (noun) ˈhȯr
1 : a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money
2 : a female who is out of line

Alexander Rosales / Search & Destroy
14:00 • Coming-of-Age Drama

For Rafael and his friends, the first day of summer is always reserved for a swim at the neighborhood pool. But this year, they must spend it searching the neighborhood for the oldest and now most elusive squad member who is accused of ditching them.