The Milieu Runs the Show
4-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016
The Department of English, with funding from the Grinnell College Innovation Fund, will present Trans, Julian Goldberger’s feature film directorial debut, which was screened at the Toronto, Sundance, and Berlin film festivals. The screening will begin at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101.
Goldberger, a frequent collaborator with writer-in-residence Dean Bakopoulos, will come to Grinnell as part of a new series of pilot courses on screenwriting and filmmaking, taught by Bakopoulos and assistant professor of English Alissa Nutting.
Trans tells the story of Ryan Kaminski, played by Ryan Daugherty, a 16-year-old who escapes the harsh world of juvenile detention in Florida. The movie follows Kaminski as he tries to decide where to go and what to do once he has his freedom.
Following the screening of the film, Goldberger will lead a discussion about the film and down-home, low-budget, regional filmmaking. The event is open to Grinnell College students, faculty, and staff.
Goldberger received widespread critical acclaim for Trans, including the Readers’ Jury Prize, Best Film, 1999 at the Berlin Film Festival, and it was screened as part of the New Directors/New Films series at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
In recognition of his first feature, Goldberger also received an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for the Someone to Watch Award. His second feature, The Hawk is Dying, stars Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams, and Michael Pitt, and premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.
His adaptation of the Harry Crews novel, also screened in the Directors Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival, won both the Grand Jury Prize as well as the Audience Award at the Brasilia International Film Festival. In 2011, Lionsgate Television optioned Goldberger’s pilot for the drama series Maple Rock, which he co-wrote with Bakopoulos.
Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people with disabilities. Room 101 in the Rosenfield Center is equipped with an induction hearing loop system, which enables individuals with hearing aids set to T-Coil to hear the program. You can request accommodations from Conference Operations, 641-269-3235.