Acclaimed cinematographer James Chressanthis, ASC, will present a lecture at Hastings College’s French Memorial Chapel (800 N. Turner Ave.) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 as part of the annual Nebraska Collegiate Media Association’s (NCMA) Golden Leaf Awards. The event is free and open to the public. This presentation is made possible through the NCMA’s affiliation with Canon USA’s Explorers of Light program.
Chressanthis is a filmmaker who has earned a diverse range of nearly forty credits since the early 1990s, including studio motion pictures, independent features, television movies, episodic drama series and documentaries. His cinematography has been nominated for an Emmy® twice: for “Four Minutes,” Roger Bannister’s quest to break the four minute mile barrier and the acclaimed mini-series “Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.”
He also shot critical additional 1st Unit photography on the Oscar® – winning “Chicago.” Other notable credits include “Urban Legend,” the controversial mini-series “The Reagans,” “’3’ (The Dale Earnhardt Story),” “The Music Man,” “Eloise at the Plaza” and “Eloise at Christmastime” (both with Julie Andrews), “Judas Kiss” and “Brian’s Song.”
His feature film directing debut was “No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos,” about the legendary Hungarian cinematographers, and the “American New Wave,” premiered as an official selection of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and has been seen in more than twenty-five film festivals worldwide culminating with a national broadcast on PBS and his third Emmy® Nomination for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. Chressanthis trained as a sculptor and today exhibits large mixed media digital prints and paintings when he is not shooting films.
Chressanthis’ appearance is sponsored by Canon USA’s Explorers of Light program which emerged in 1995 as a broad-ranging initiative for photographic education and inspiration. Today, the program is comprised of dozens of the most influential photographers and cinematographers in the world, each a master of their creative specialty. The Explorers share their photographic passions and technical expertise with eager audiences of photo professionals, hobbyists, and enthusiasts in a variety of personal appearances, seminars, and gallery showings through the United States. Examples of the Explorers’ work may be found online at the Explorers of Light Gallery, as well as numerous museums, galleries and publications.
The Nebraska Collegiate Media Association is the group of media programs at Nebraska’s small four-year and two-year colleges, represents more than 400 media students statewide, and sponsors the annual Golden Leaf Awards & Convention one of the member schools. Hastings College’s Department of Journalism & Media Arts is hosting this year’s convention.
