Winners to be Announced During Annual University Film and Video Association Conference at University of North Texas in Denton

Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC will judge entries in the 2007 Eastman Scholarships for film school students and the Kodak Faculty Grant competitions. The deadline for submissions is June 16. Applicants must be attending or teaching at a college located in the United States or Canada. The winners will be announced during the annual University Film and Video Association (UFVA) conference, which is hosted this year at the University of North Texas in Denton, from August 8 through 11.
"These scholarships were instituted to help inspire talented young filmmakers to pursue their dreams, and assist educators with projects involving students," says Wendy Elms, worldwide manager, Education Segment, for Kodak's
Entertainment Imaging Division. "Dante Spinotti is one of the world's most talented filmmakers. We are honored that he will facilitate us in recognizing outstanding achievements in collegiate work."

The Eastman Scholarship and Kodak Faculty Grant programs are co-funded by an endowment established by Kodak and administered by the University Film and Video Foundation (UFVF), a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the study, practice, and preservation of motion picture and video production.

Student prizes include a tuition stipend and product grants. The faculty grant is given to a professor whose project demonstrates an ability to enhance skill development in film production for emerging talent and classroom education.

Judging of the Eastman Scholarships is based on sample reels submitted by the students, recommendations from faculty, and academic achievement. The jury will be comprised of Spinotti, a UFVA member representative, and Kodak
cinematographer. They will choose the emerging filmmakers who use moving images most effectively to tell their stories. A maximum of two nominations are accepted from each accredited film school in the United States and Canada.

The same jury will select a faculty project that best cultivates a learning experience based on the submitted proposals, treatments and/or sample of work.

"I feel privileged to play a role in supporting the next generation of cinematographers and their mentors, and am looking forward to seeing their work," Spinotti says.

Spinotti was born and raised in a small town in Northern Italy. He began his career working on his uncle's documentary/newsfilm crew in Kenya at the age of 17. During the early 1980s Spinotti lensed half a dozen one-hour movies for RAI, the state television network in Italy. He earned his first cinema credit for Sotto … Sotto (Softly, Softly) in 1984.

His career took a global turn in 1986 when Dino De Laurentiis signed Spinotti to a contract at his new studio in North Carolina. Spinotti's first U.S. credit was Manhunter, in collaboration with director Michael Mann. He earned
Oscar nominations for L.A. Confidential in 1998 and The Insider in 2000. Other memorable titles amongst his more than 50 narrative film credits include The Last of the Mohicans, Blink, Heat, Wonder Boys, Red Dragon and the upcoming The Tourist.

For more information, visit www.kodak.com/go/education. Entry forms for students and educators can be downloaded by clicking on "Discounts & Scholarships."