Academy President, Janet Yang '78, to Keynote LA Screening of Brown Media Group Film Festival

SPECTACULAR SHORT FILMS DIRECTED BY, WRITTEN BY, PRODUCED BY OR FEATURING A BROWN ALUM

Celebrate the Brown creative spirit at the LA Screening of the 4th Brown Media Group Film Festival, presented by the Brown Club in Los Angeles, with special guest Janet Yang '78, an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning Hollywood producer and the current President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences!

Meet Our Speaker

Janet Yang's career as a producer came to prominence through her collaboration with Steven Spielberg on EMPIRE OF THE SUN (Warner Bros), followed by a long partnership with multiple Academy Award-winner Oliver Stone—where she served as Executive Producer on the iconic THE JOY LUCK CLUB (Disney), and as a Producer on the Golden Globe-winning THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT (Columbia Pictures). Her most recent credit is as an Executive Producer on the Oscar-nominated animated feature, OVER THE MOON, directed by legendary animator Glen Keane and released on Netflix in 2020. Among her many other credits are: the Sundance award-winning DARK MATTER with Meryl Streep; THE WEIGHT OF WATER (Lionsgate) directed by Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow with Academy Award winner Sean Penn; FOX'S HIGH CRIMES with Morgan Freeman; a Chinese adaptation of the acclaimed Disney franchise HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL; cult favorites ZERO EFFECT, by Jake Kasdan, and SHANGHAI CALLING with China Film Group.

Yang was named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood” by the Hollywood Reporter. She was also honored by Variety's Power of Women 2023 and Gold House's 2024 A100.

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS OF THE 4TH BROWN MEDIA GROUP FILM FESTIVAL:

Coconuts -- Casey Friedman ‘15, Director and Producer -- A filmmaker tries to convince his sister to take a lunch break with a story about a Catholic missionary and a Samoan woman.

Constructing Criticism -- Matthew Osubor ‘19, Producer, Director & Featured -  A struggling performer in a crowded diner orders the patrons to partake in an unexpected ritual. An absurd, surrealist perspective on the nature of criticism.

A Cow in the Sky - John Andrews ‘76, Producer - The pain and personal triumph of a son left behind. Based on the true story of Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian college student killed in Portland, OR in 1988 by skinheads in a crime inspired by white supremacist Tom Metzger.

Falling -- Lena Song ‘27, Director & Producer - On a beautiful autumn day, a leaf travels through a college campus and discovers more than just a wonderful view.

Lock It Up - Laura Colella MFA ‘14, Director and Producer, with additional Producer Charles Shi '23 and Co-Producers: Rehaan Kaul '22 & Justin Woo '23. Featuring a large number of alumni and current students. On a film set with a troubled director, ripples become waves that throw the whole crew off course.

Millstone -- Peter Kimball ‘04, DIrector & Producer - A desperate, grieving couple think they have found the only therapist who can help them - but his methods might be worse than anyone imagined. Features an entirely Deaf cast and shot exclusively in American Sign Language.

Natural Hair:The History & The Joy In The Movement - Paige Censale ‘27, Director, Producer & Featured - Untangling the history of Black natural hair and its role as a symbol of identity, empowerment, and resistance throughout the ages.

Rainbow Speed Dating -- Michael Schelp ‘85, Director & Producer - A hopeful gay man navigates the colorful yet challenging world of online speed dating, encountering an array of mismatched suitors.

Storage -- Tony Kim ‘91, Director & Producer - Trapped in a storage facility, a newlywed couple are terrorized by a sadistic psycho with no way out.

Today I -- Brett Halperin ‘18, Producer - An interpretation of how people with dementia experience their world.

Vial -- Alexandre Jerard Davis ‘20, Director -- A relapsed parolee has two options: find clean urine or lose custody of his son and be sent back to prison.

The Violence Engine -- Healey Koch ‘24, Director, Producer and Featured - A coin-operated robot tries to return a letter.

Work Life -- Sam Masto ‘21, Featured - Four corporate co-workers unknowingly cross paths during a chaotic weekend that leaves their lives intertwined through improbable twists of fate.

Yidlife Crisis: The Double Date -- Eli Batalion ‘02, Producer & Featured - A blind date with the perfect woman turns into a battle of nebbish proportions.