AUSTIN, Texas—Ya’Ke Smith, a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, has been invited to screen his short film at the Cannes International Film Festival in France this week.
Smith’s film, “Hope’s War,” is one of six films selected to screen tomorrow at the Hotel Gray d’Albion Theatre as part of the Kodak Emerging Filmmakers Showcase.
A graduate student in the Department of Radio-TV-Film in the College of Communication, Smith will earn his Master of Fine Arts degree this month. His short, narrative, “Hope’s War,” is a 16mm film about a U.S. soldier’s struggle to adapt to everyday life after returning home from Iraq, but brutal visions of war threaten to destroy him.
“Hope’s War” earned Best Short Film at the Jumpcut Film Festival and was an official selection at the 2005 Texas Filmmakers Showcase.
A native of San Antonio, Smith has produced several award-winning films, including “Shoppin’,” which has been honored at several film festivals, including the Houston Multicultural Independent Film Festival, where it won Best Student Film, and WestFest, where it won the Best Actress Award for star Mikala Gibson.
In addition to enabling filmmakers to show their work, the Kodak Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at Cannes will give the students the opportunity to participate in panel discussions to talk about taking their work from concept to completion. For more information visit the Kodak Student Filmmaker Program online. For more information about the Cannes Market visit the Web site online.
For more information contact: Erin Geisler, College of Communication, 512-475-8071.
