NCAC - National Coalition Against Censorship

JAY ANANIA has been making films since the mid-70's. After working in experimental forms for several years, he began making documentaries for television (PBS and ABC, principally) that covered political subjects throughout the Third World: Northwest Pakistan, The Phillipines, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Ethiopia, Sudan, Malawi, Egypt, and the South Pacific. These were films Anania shot, directed, edited, and wrote - often working as a one man crew. Since the mid-90's he has been making dramatic features: THE PAGAN BOOK OF ARTHUR RIMBAUD (1995), LONG TIME SINCE (1997), THE CITIZEN (1999), THE GIRL UNDER THE WAVES (2001), HER NAME IS CARLA (2003), DAY ON FIRE (2006), DRINKING SAND (2008). He is currently in post-production on THE LOST HOURS. He is also currently in production on a series of collaborations with directors from other countries THR-NY is a collaboration with Iranian director Faryar Javaherian, and LETTER TO DAMASCUS is a collaboration with Syrian director Omar Amirilay. Features in development are THE STARE, THE FALLING BOY, THE OTHER ONE, and a ten-part series of feature-length improvisations, BLACK BOX.

JOSLYN BARNES is Co-Founder (with Danny Glover) and Chief Operating Officer, Louverture Films as well as the author or co-author of twelve commissioned screenplays for feature films including the upcoming epic TOUSSAINT, and the award-winning film BÀTTU, directed by Cheikh Oumar Sissoko (Mali), which she associate produced with British Screen. Since co-founding Louverture Films, Barnes has executive produced the award-winning feature BAMAKO, the music documentary AFRICA UNITE, the award-winning TROUBLE THE WATER, and the forthcoming SALT OF THIS SEA and SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION. Barnes has also served as an expert consultant and programme officer at the United Nations. She has lived and travelled widely in Africa and Asia, and has written numerous articles covering trade and social development issues, as well as contributing to books on the establishment of electronic communications in developing countries, food security and production in Africa, and strategic advocacy for the inclusion of gender perspectives on the international development agenda.

KATHY BREW is an award-winning independent video maker whose experience spans independent documentaries to experimental work and public television productions. For the past twelve years, she has been collaborating with filmmaker Roberto Guerra, working on a range of independent cultural and social issue video projects. She is also a curator/programmer, having most recently served as Co-Director of the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival (2004-2007) and Series/Curatorial Consultant for WNET’s independent series, REEL NEW YORK(2002-2004).She is currently a Curatorial Consultant for REFRAME, the Tribeca Film Institute’s new online distribution opportunity for independent filmmakers and is on the faculty in the MFA Computer Arts department at the School of Visual Arts.

GIL CATES is recognized as a leader in television, film and theater. As a filmmaker, he has directed and produced several films, including I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHERand SUMMER WISHES, WINTER DREAMS which both received Oscar nominations. He has further distinguished himself as director and/or producer of a number of television specials for ABC, NBC, and PBS, many of which starred acclaimed performers such as Bill Cosby, Natalie Wood, Faye Dunaway and Christopher Plummer. Mr. Cates most recently produced the 80th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS show for ABC. This marked his 14th occasion producing the Awards, for which he has garnered numerous Emmy Awards and nominations. In his early career, Mr. Cates directed several off and on Broadway productions. He currently presides as the Producing Director of the Geffen Playhouse, a non-profit professional theater where he has directed several productions, including Collected Stories, for which he won an Ovation Award for best play. He also currently teaches directing and acting at the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television, which he founded and was Dean from 1990-8. In 2005, Mr. Cates was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the Motion Picture category. A member of the Directors Guild of America since 1975, Mr. Cates served as President of the Directors Guild of America, which awarded him the DGA’s Presidents Award, Robert B. Aldrich Award and DGA’s Honorary Life Membership. In early 2005, Gil Cates was also awarded the American Society of Cinematographers Board of Governor’s Award.

HELEN GEBREGIORGIS is a Film/Video student at Columbia College Chicago and first place winner of YFEN’s 2007 Film Contest: How Does Censorship Affect Me? for her film MUTE. Helen was born in Khartuam, Sudan, but grew up in uptown Chicago, surrounded by all types of people from all over the globe, fostering her interest in different cultures and nature. She hopes to travel the world as a filmmaker and writer.

DAVID HENRY HWANG is a playwright, screenwriter and librettist, whose plays include M. Butterfly, Golden Child, FOB, The Dance and the Railroad, and Yellow Face. He wrote the scripts for the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (2002 revival), and Disney’s Tarzan. He is a Tony Award-winner and three-time nominee, has twice been a Nominated Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, and is the recipient of three OBIE Awards for playwriting. His opera libretti include Philip Glass’ The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), Bright Sheng’s The Silver River, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, winner of two 2007 Grammy Awards. Hwang penned the feature films M. BUTTERFLY, GOLDEN GATE, and POSSESSION (co-writer), and also co-wrote the song “Solo” with Prince. Hwang attended Stanford University and Yale Drama School, and was appointed by President Clinton to the President’s Committee for the Arts and the Humanities.

GREG MOTTOLA directed the 2007 hit SUPERBAD, produced by Judd Apatow and starring Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Michael Cera. He has written and directed a new film, ADVENTURELAND, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, which is to be released by Miramax and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment later this year. Mottola made his debut writing and directing the movie THE DAYTRIPPERS (1997), starring Hope Davis, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, Anne Meara, Campbell Scott, and Stanley Tucci. THE DAYTRIPPERS was chosen for the Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, and it was awarded the audience and jury prizes at the Deauville Festival of American Films. Mottola went on to team with Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen as the director of several episodes of the Fox television series UNDECLARED. He has also directed episodes of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and HBO's THE COMEBACK. Greg attended graduate film school at Columbia University, where he studied with Sidney Lumet, David Mamet, and George Roy Hill. He has also acted in the Woody Allen movies CELEBRITY and HOLLYWOOD ENDING.

To enter the contest visit www.ncac.org/yfen/2008.cfm to view rules and regulations and to download entry forms.

Questions: Contact YFEN coodinator Brian Pickett .

YFEN is a coalition of teens and adults committed to defending the free expression rights of youth. Visit www.ncac.org/YFEN.cfm for more information about past film contests and other ways to get involved in the fight against censorship!