Category Archives: RADIO-TELEVISION-FILM

RTVF GRAD SAILA KARIAT’S FEATURE FILM “THE VALLEY” TO HAVE THEATRICAL RELEASE

SJSU RTVF grad Saila Kariat’s feature-length drama “The Valley,” about an Indian high tech entrepreneur whose college freshman daughter commits suicide, is having a Bay Area Theatrical release in Pale Alto (www.bit.ly/thevalleypaloalto), San Francisco (www.bit.ly/thevalleysanfran), and other cities across the country, as well as a simultaneous VOD release. 


On the heels of a successful film festival run, the acclaimed, award-winning drama will enjoy a one-week theatrical run, opening June 8, in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington D.C.; as well as a special screening in Palo Alto, Calif., June 11-12. The film will also be available on VOD June 16 on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play. It was written, produced and directed by SJSU radio-television-film major Saila Kariat in her feature film debut; and stars Alyy Khan, Suchitra Pillai, Jake T. Austin, Barry Corbin, Christa B. Allen, Agneeta Thacker, Salma Khan and Hope Lauren.

In “The Valley,” ambitious and highly successful Indian-American entrepreneur Neal Kumar (Alyy Kahn) – with wife, Roopa (Suchitra Pillai), and daughters, Monica (Salma Kahn) and Maya (Agneeta Thacker) – enjoy an affluent Silicon Valley lifestyle that appears idyllic, so when Maya tragically commits suicide during her freshman year at college, no one seems to know why. With the family struggling to survive a culture in which relationships and human connection are almost impossible to maintain, Neal embarks on a frantic journey to uncover the truth about his daughter’s death. When he doesn’t find answers at home, he travels to her campus to speak with the people who surrounded Maya in her final days. As work and family unravel in the chaos, the fractured nature of his life begins to become apparent to him and everyone around him. When the elusive reasons are finally revealed – as well as the heartbreaking secrets kept by her and the rest of his family – is it too late for them all to come back together?

“The Valley” – which also had a week-long theatrical run in April in India in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi and Mumbia – has been awarded Best Feature Film, Best Actress (Suchitra Pillai), Best Supporting Actress (Agneeta Thacker) and Best Original Score (Jacob Yoffee), 2017 Long Island International Film Festival; Best Feature Film and Best Director—Female (Saila Kariat), 2017 Out of the Can Film Festival; Best Original Screenplay (Saila Kariat), 2017 Madrid International Film Festival; Best Lead Actress (Suchitra Pillai), 2017 Milan International Filmmaker Festival; Best Film and Best Cinematographer (Paul Nordin), 2017 International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema Berlin; Best Feature Film Jury Award, 2017 DC South Asian Film Festival, Best Feature Film Grand Jury Award, 2017 Portland Film Festival. More information, and a trailer, can be found at www.thevalleyfilm.com.

News from Justin Germono, RTVF Grad 2012

JGRecent RTVF grad Justin Germono checked in recently with Professor Scott Sublett and offered the following update:

After graduating from the department in the Spring of 2012, I made the move down to Los Angeles diving right into freelance production work, specializing in non-fiction television. I quickly climbed the ranks, landing my first producing job on hit CBS reality series ‘Big Brother’ in the Summer of 2013. Since, I’ve done several more seasons of ‘Big Brother,’ and associate produced other hits such as FOX’s ‘MasterChef,’ CNBC’s ‘Restaurant Startup.’”

I just launched a website, too; www.germono.net.” 

Sounds as if things are going great for Justin! RTVF graduates rock!

What We Did This Summer

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

Spartan Films teamed with the TRFT department to produce the short film The Yellow Wallpaper. Based on the 1892 short story of the same name by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, it tells the tale of Eleanor, a young woman who struggles with postpartum depression. However, when her over-protective husband refuses to recognize her illness, he locks her in a room in their new Victorian mansion. Slowly, Eleanor loses sight of her sanity, and the patterns in the room’s yellow wallpaper begin to come to life.

The TRFT YELLOW WALLPAPER Team

The TRFT YELLOW WALLPAPER Team

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is an old story. and it has been adapted for film and stage many times. However, this film’s approach is different in that it does not over-emphasize the horror and thriller elements which sometime downplay the crucial message of female subjugation. Instead, the time period has been updated to the 1950s, not only to make it more accessible to contemporary audiences but also because that decade represented a period in which many women’s roles were also circumscribed by certain oppressive cultural norms.

The film is now in post-production.

Congratulations to 90.5 KSJS for Its 2015 Music Showcase!

The KSJS booth

The KSJS booth

On Thursday, April 30, KSJS held its first ever “KSJS Music Showcase,” funded primarily through a Dean’s Global Grant from SJSU’s College of Humanities & Arts. KSJS’s commitment is  to programming that includes a wide range of eclectic information and music from different musical and co-cultural traditions. The station provides an alternative to commercial radio programming by offering a diverse selection of under-represented music and unique public affairs.

The showcase was held in the CVB Quad. That’s on  the southeast corner of the SJSU campus, between dormitories, where approximately 1,700 students live.

Students enjoying the Music Showcase

Students enjoying the Music Showcase

On stage at the Music Showcase

On stage at the Music Showcase

Thanks to the leadership of KSJS’s Jessica (Jazzy) O’Loughlin and a whole host of KSJS students working hours to support the event, it came together and provided SJSU students–current and incoming alike–with an enjoyable afternoon.