2019-20 Visiting Filmmaker

The University of Oregon Department of Cinema Studies proudly welcomed award-winning producer Ryan Zacarias for the fifth annual Harlan J. Strauss Visiting Filmmaker Series.

Cinema Studies has been honored to bring the Harlan J. Strauss Visiting Filmmaker Series to Oregon for the past five years. Through the generosity of Harlan (PhD ’74) and Rima Strauss, the Department of Cinema Studies is the recipient of an endowment that brings successful industry filmmakers and emerging talents to campus annually to mentor students and hold public conversations. Cinema Studies was excited to continue the engaging experience for our students and the film community through a series of remote events made available in virtual formats. In addition to the remote events, Zacarias mentored students and guest lectured in the spring term course “CINE 408:  The Art of Producing.”

CINE 408: The Art of Producing

This class examined the ways in which a producer serves as an essential force behind a film by shaping creative decisions, logistics, and methods of finance. In this course, award-winning producer Ryan Zacarias guest taught four classes. He shared his approach to film producing with students. Through practical projects and an analysis of Zacarias’s body of work, students learned how to transform a project from script to screen, support a director’s vision, and utilize different funding models. In the end, this course empowered students to produce their own projects and create more ethical and collaborative production communities.

Visiting Filmmaker Series Talk with Producer Ryan Zacarias

In the Harlan J. Strauss Visiting Filmmaker Talk, producer Ryan Zacarias spoke with assistant professor Daniel Gómez Steinhart about how he got into producing, chooses projects to produce, makes movies in a diversity of locations, and collaborates with directors such as Rick Alverson, Jonas Carpignano, Harmony Korine, Annie Silverstein, and Michael Tully.

Los Angeles-based producer Ryan Zacarias has generated some of the boldest independent films in recent years. Balancing taste, logistical know-how, and productive working relationships, Zacarias has played a vital role in bringing the work of exciting filmmakers like Jonas Carpignano and Rick Alverson to the screen. Zacarias recently completed Annie Silverstein’s debut feature, Bull  (2019), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and executive produced Give Me Liberty (2019), which premiered at Sundance. His films have garnered many awards and critical acclaim, and he is a 2020 Independent Spirit Producer’s Award nominee.

Exclusive Video on Demand Screening of BULL (2019)

The UO Community was invited to a free exclusive video on demand screening of Annie Silverstein's debut feature, Bull (2019). Produced by Ryan Zacarias, Bull premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard, and won the Grand Prize, Critics' Prize, and Revelation Prize for Best First Film awards at the Deauville American Film Festival. 

Livestream Q&A with BULL Director Annie Silverstein and Producer Ryan Zacarias

In the final event in the Visiting Filmmaker Series, UO students, faculty, staff, and the community were invited to a livestream talk with Director Annie Silverstein and Producer Ryan Zacarias. They discussed their latest film, Bull, and shared how a producer supports a director’s vision. The event included an interactive Q&A. 

Annie Silverstein is an award-winning filmmaker and media educator based in Austin, Texas. Her films have screened at international festivals including Cannes, SXSW, Silverdocs and on PBS Independent Lens. Before attending film school, Annie spent ten years as a youth worker and community media educator. She co-founded and served as Artistic Director at Longhouse Media, an indigenous arts organization based in Seattle. In 2014 she wrote/directed the short film, SKUNK, which won first prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival–Cinéfondation. Annie was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine and was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs for Bull, her feature debut. Bull premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard,and won the Grand Prize, Critics' Prize, and Revelation Prize for Best First Film awards at the Deauville American Film Festival. Annie is a lecturer at the University of Texas-Austin, where she earned her MFA in Film Production.