NYU celebrates student films at First Run Film Festival

The Kanbar Institute of Film & Television presented the NYU First Run Film Festival from Oct. 21 to Oct. 23, with an awards ceremony at Regal Union Square on Thursday, Oct. 27. 

A+auditorium+inside+a+cinema+with+red+chairs+and+the+text+%E2%80%9CFIRST+RUN+FILM+FESTIVAL%E2%80%9D+projected+onto+the+backdrop+screen.

Yezen Saadah

The 2022 edition of the First Run Film Festival at the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at NYU. (Yezen Saadah for WSN)

Yezen Saadah, Staff Writer

The Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & Television hosted NYU’s annual First Run Film Festival — a presentation of 100 films by undergraduate and graduate students — from Oct. 21 through Oct. 23.

“The festival is a celebration of the advanced work of our graduate and undergraduate students,” Film & TV associate dean Michael Burke said. “Students work so hard, receive rigorous critique throughout the process of making their films, and First Run is an opportunity to put the work in front of an audience and just enjoy that experience.”

The festival started screening a diverse array of award-winning student films, including Sara Balghonaim’s “Me and Aydarous,” Tsung-Yen’s “Piglet, Piglet” and Áine Gleeson’s “Above the Fold” at the Tisch School of the Arts on Oct. 21.

The festival closed with the King Awards Program ceremony held at Regal Union Square Cinema on Thursday, Oct. 27, which began with a statement by Tisch addressing Maurice Kanbar, the namesake benefactor of the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television, who passed away in August of this year.

“His early leadership support provided the necessary resources to propel the undergraduate and graduate Film & Television Production departments into the world-class programs they are today,” the statement reads. 

The ceremony held screenings of six award-winning student films from undergraduate and graduate students, including the documentary “Here to Stay” by NYU alum Jared Peraglia, which received a Student Academy Award.

“Our students pave the way for the future of filmmaking,” Burke said. “I am always surprised by the artistic risks they take, the forward thinking, the unique voices and points of view. Ot’s the opportunity it provides for us to learn from one another, inspire one another that makes it so special.”

Contact Yezen Saadah at [email protected].