College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies

Since graduating from George Mason University, alum Alex Plank, BA Film and Video Studies ’10, has worked professionally on films and television series as an associate producer and actor. Plank is also an autism activist who works toward more authentic neurodiverse representation in media.

Mason alum Jada Salter has created a feature-length documentary about her grandfather, award-winning composer and songwriter William (Bill) Salter. The film is called "Just the Two of Us" after his Grammy Award-winning hit song.

As a film student at George Mason University, Roberto Ferreira De Araujo wanted to celebrate diversity and highlight the full spectrum of experiences represented by the LGBTQ+ community. During his first semester at Mason in fall 2022, Ferreira De Araujo and two of his classmates created the Here and Queer Film Festival as a final project for a class.

Andrew Opitz first came to George Mason University as a freshman over a decade ago. After taking a hiatus from school, he graduated from the Film and Video Studies (FAVS) Program in May 2023. Opitz’s film, Jazz, which he directed for his senior capstone, was a semi-finalist in the Student Academy Awards Alternative/Experimental category.

Kyle Finnegan’s short documentary film “MSG: Mysterious Savory Grains” was partially funded by Mason’s Young Alumni Commissioning Project (YACP) and was recently screened at the Johnson Center Cinema.

For cultural studies PhD student Maillim “May” Santiago, the horror genre presents a way to find the strength to fight life’s difficult battles and accept her true self.

“An evening like no other,” ARTS by George! makes its in-person return on September 24. The philanthropic event, headlined by Emmy® and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, raises support for student scholarships in visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performance at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

This summer Mason seniors Mirella Guzman-Escobar and Jacques Lykes are interning in the office of the House Creative Services, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at the U.S. House of Representatives.

George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the fourth round of its Young Alumni Commissioning Project Awards.

In January, Nikyatu Jusu, assistant professor of directing and screenwriting in Mason’s Film and Video Studies Program, had her first feature film, “Nanny,” premier at the Sundance Film Festival, where she was awarded the Grand Jury Prize.