Sunday, April 26

Retired lecturer talks new edition of book, TV screenwriting panel

Hal Ackerman retired from UCLA in 2015 – but he’s been back every winter quarter since. After retiring from his 30-year career as a screenwriting lecturer and returning to his hometown of New York, Ackerman has evaded East Coast winters to teach at UCLA on emeritus status, he said. Read more...

Photo: Hal Ackerman retired from UCLA in 2015 but has returned every winter quarter since to teach. In honor of the 15th anniversary of his book on screenwriting, Ackerman released an updated edition of the book and will be discussing it Monday with a panel at the Barnes & Noble in Burbank, California. (Axel Lopez/Daily Bruin)


Death within family, setbacks spur on alumnus’ film production

Creating the film “Sandy Beach” was no walk on the beach for Thanos Papastergiou. But after hospital visits, multiple delays and a thunderstorm, “Sandy Beach” has gone on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and was shortlisted for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Student Film Award. Read more...

Photo: Alumnus Thanos Papastergiou directed “Sandy Beach,” a film with no dialogue that centers on the story of a daughter and her father at a beach in Crete, Greece. The film was inspired by the death of his uncle and was selected as a Toronto International Film Festival pick. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)


Former cancer patient uses music as support for hospitalized kids

Austin Gatus would sit on his hospital bed and play the saxophone while he received treatment for leukemia as a form of therapy. Gatus, a third-year ethnomusicology student with a concentration in jazz studies, fought leukemia from ages 9 to 12. Read more...

Photo: Third-year ethnomusicology student Austin Gatus was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 9 years old. After becoming cancer-free eight years ago, Gatus began performing music at children’s hospitals in order to give back to children going through similar struggles. (Frank To/Daily Bruin)



Student documents emotions, experiences in original songs

Danielle Bongiovanni wrote her song “Bees” a year after dreaming someone put a swarm of the buzzing insects in her chest. “Bees” is also the first song Bongiovanni shared on SoundCloud, which now hosts seven of the second-year theater student’s original songs. Read more...

Photo: Second-year theater student Danielle Bongiovanni writes and records her own songs, which she uploads to SoundCloud. The latest song she posted is titled “So I can feel how I used to,” a slower song about how she sometimes values others over herself. She is also currently working on three new songs, which she said she hopes to post within the next two weeks. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)


Student steps into fashion world with custom painted shoes

Andrea Nguyen said she never thought of herself as a talented painter until this past summer. But when Nguyen posted photos of her hand-painted jeans on social media, a friend requested a pair of custom painted shoes. Read more...

Photo: Second-year mathematics/economics student Andrea Nguyen creates custom painted and embroidered shoes, which she sells on her website Rush Hour Kicks. Her latest pair of sneakers feature embroidered roses along the side. (Courtesy of Keyshawn Thomas)