Christine Vachon, Todd Haynes Premiere Carol at 2015 Cannes Film Festival
Film Served as Real-Time Case Study for Stony Brook MFA in Film Students
New York and Southampton, NY, May 12, 2015 - Stony Brook University announced today
that Christine Vachon, Founder of legendary indie production company Killer Films
and Graduate Director of Stony Brook's innovative Master of Fine Arts in Film Program,
and Academy Award®-nominated Director Todd Haynes, who has served as guest faculty
at Stony Brook's MFA in Film Program, will premiere their eagerly anticipated film
Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival scheduled
for May 13-24.
Haynes (Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven) directed the movie adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel Carol and Vachon produced the film along with Elizabeth Karlsen of Number 9 Films. Carol served as a real-time case study for students in the graduate film program with students reading the script and following the production of the movie.
Stony Brook graduate film students have also been credited crew in Killer Films' movies including the upcoming film Nasty Baby starring Kristen Wiig and Still Alice, which earned the 2014 Academy Award® for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" for Julianne Moore, who also won the Best Actress Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Independent Spirit Award.
Robert Reeves, Associate Provost of Southampton Graduate Arts, said, "Students at Stony Brook's Graduate Film Program have the extraordinary opportunity to learn from true legends in the independent film community. With Christine Vachon leading our new MFA in Film program and guest faculty such as Todd Haynes advising our students, they get first-hand knowledge and real-time experience in filmmaking."
Magdalene Brandeis, Associate Director, said, "The practical training that our graduate film students receive as a direct result of our partnership with Killer Films is unique to Stony Brook. There's no better modeling of the long-term producer/director relationship than Christine Vachon's with Todd Haynes, exemplifying our mission to nurture the next generation of great filmmakers and great storytellers and to turn the film school model on its head."
About Southampton Graduate Arts
Southampton Graduate Arts is a vibrant gathering of MFA programs in creative writing, theatre and film. Film classes are offered on campuses in Manhattan and Southampton. The programs attract a faculty of world renowned authors, playwrights, directors and filmmakers. The film program, added in 2012 and launched as an MFA in 2015, features state-of-the-art camera and lighting equipment, and is supported by the prestigious Sklar Collection on the history of American cinema. For more info, contact 631-632-5010/southamptonarts@stonybrook.edu.