BROOKS INSTITUTE CHINA DOCUMENTARY FILM RECEIVES
FILM FESTIVAL RECOGNITION
Awards Come from Two Distinguished Festivals

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (December 19, 2007) - Brooks Institute announced today its international documentary class production of China: A Will to Rise received the First Place Documentary Film award at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival Collegiate Competition and the Award of Excellence at The Accolade Film Awards competition which recognizes outstanding work in film, television and video.

At the 22nd annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival competition, China, A Will to Rise, competed in the collegiate documentary category. The first place honor also earned the students a $1,000 product grant from Kodak.

In The Accolade competition, the Brooks documentary project was one of only eight films to receive an "Award of Excellence" the second highest honors in the Accolade competition. All award recipients are carefully screened by the Competition Chairperson. Less than 15 percent of entries receive this honor.

Third year students, Erika Logie, Stuart Handy, and Kaila Williams, lead the documentary multimedia team who created China: A Will to Rise, the culminating project of the Visual Journalism department’s 2006 International Documentary class. Logie and Williams shot the video footage for the project, while Handy, with Logie and Williams, combined the still and video work from the entire class to create a final piece that captured their individual visual perspectives of China.

The students were inspired by the differences in the culture of China. Joe Gosen, the documentary Visual Journalism (VJ) instructor who accompanied the students on their trip, explained, "During the six months of research and planning for this trip, the students established an interest in how China was managing to balance tradition with the rapid changes taking place in the country. I was pleased and impressed with how they captured this aspect of the country and its people."

The VJ international documentary class is open to interested visual journalism, professional photography and film and video production students at Brooks Institute through an application screening process. The class, which is staged in a different international location each year, is limited to those applicants who demonstrate solid understanding of photographic story-telling, the ability to work independently, and who reflect sensitivity to their roles as ambassadors. In November and December 2006, the 16 selected students and instructor spent five weeks in the in the People’s Republic of China traveling through the province of Sichuan and the neighboring municipality Chongqing to chronicle its people, life and culture. Upon their return, the students created several projects to showcase their experiences from this documented trip, including a multimedia presentation, a print exhibition, website, book, and a DVD.

For more information and to view pictures of the China documentary, visit the course website located at: http://documentary.brooks.edu/china/. Copies of the China: A Will to Rise DVD are available from the Brooks Institute bookstore by calling 805-690-4944.

About the Accolade
The Accolade is an international, non-traditional venue. Awards go to those filmmakers who produce fresh, standout entertainment, animation and compelling documentaries. The Accolade recognizes filmmakers, large and small, who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity. The Accolade receives entries from all over the world including Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.

About the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival
Now in its 22nd year, The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) will reel out over 200 films from around the globe. Filmmakers and celebrities will attend many of the screenings and events over the 37 day fest, October 14 - November 20 of 2007. Parties and gatherings at area "hot spots", on board yachts, and on the beach will provide audiences an opportunity to hob knob with film talent and other movie buffs. At the heart of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival are the films and the artists that create them. During the festival, films are divided into the following sidebars: competition films, world films, American independents, documentaries, shorts, sunshine celluloid, children’s films, gay and lesbian films, retrospectives and tributes.

About Brooks Institute
Brooks Institute celebrates more than 60 years of educating students in the visual and media arts. With campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California, the school offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in fields including Professional Photography, Visual Journalism, Film and Video Production and Graphic Design, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography. Brooks’ graduates are visible nationally and internationally, working for distinguished organizations including National Geographic, Smithsonian, Los Angeles Times and other national media outlets, including Hallmark Publishing, Cousteau Society, HBO, Kodak and other industry leaders in the visual media arts fields. For more information about Brooks Institute and the school’s programs, visit www.brooks.edu, or call 805-966-3888.