UCLA student filmmakers to be honored with directing awards

UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television has announced the winners of its Directors Spotlight competition, nine outstanding student filmmakers whose work will be screened at Westwood's Mann Bruin Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11. Also at the event, acclaimed film director and UCLA alumnus Gina Prince-Bythewood ("The Secret Life of Bees," "Love and Basketball") will be honored as UCLA Filmmaker of the Year. Directors Spotlight is part of " UCLA Festival 2009: New Creative Work ," a nine-day celebration of the newest work by students from the School of Theater, Film and Television. The Spotlight event was created to provide an opportunity for student filmmakers to present their work to the entertainment industry. Since its inception more than a decade ago, the event has developed a reputation as a reliable predictor of future movie industry success, having helped launch the careers of numerous gifted filmmakers, including Alexander Payne ("Sideways"), Todd Holland ("Malcolm in the Middle"), Shane Acker ("9") and Gil Kenan ("Monster House"). The highlighted films were selected by a blue-ribbon panel of industry professionals that included director Charles Burnett, director Catherine Hardwicke, producer Michael London, Sundance Institute general manager John Nein and director Alexander Payne. This year's Directors Spotlight winners are: Amy Adrion: "Shoegazer" Adventure ensues when a bartender on a mission to find her cheating boyfriend gets stuck driving a drunk high schooler home.