(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)November 8, 2004

(Mahwah) – Nancy Savoca, whose acclaimed films include the controversial HBO series, If These Walls Could Talk (1996), Household Saints (1993)
and Dirt (2003), will discuss her work with Ramapo College students interested in screenwriting and digital filmmaking on Thursday, November
18.  All events are open to the public.

The culmination of the day will be a Conversation with Nancy Savoca” at 5:30 in the H-Wing Auditorium, where the filmmaker will talk about her career and field questions. The day’s events will start at 2 p.m. with a screening of Savoca’s newest work, Dirt, a film that combines comedy and intense
emotion as it follows Salvadorian immigrant Delores Del Rosario (Juliet Ortiz) through a world of clashing cultures and classes in modern day New York.  A special workshop about the creative process will be held at 3:30 for screenwriting and film students. A second screening of the film will occur at 4 p.m., also in the H-Wing Auditorium. The day’s program will end with a reception, featuring a sampling of Argentinean food at 6:30 p.m.

Nancy Savoca broke into the independent film world in 1989 when her first work, True Love won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then her screenwriting and directing have been widely featured and honored by film festivals and critics.

Savoca’s appearance is the first in a special program series, entitled Digital Futures/Personal Journeys, to be held during the year.  The series, organized by the Communication Arts program, will bring leading artists and media makers to campus to discuss the impact of digital technologies on their creative fields.

After her first film, True Love, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, it went on to win an OCIC Award Honorable Mention
and a San Sebastián Film Festival Award.

In 1991, she directed Dogfight for Warner Brothers, starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor. Her next big success was the 1993 film Household Saints, which won an Independent Spirit Award for best actress, Lilli Taylor, and was nominated for two additional Independent Spirit Awards for best screenplay and best male lead.  The film, which Robert Ebert calls a jewel of a movie,” blends poignant scenes with laughter as it follows the story of an Italian American woman and her developing obsession with sainthood.

Savoca then went on to produce two television series, Dark Eyes and Murder One.  In 1996, she worked on film segments for the controversial HBO
special on abortion, If These Walls Could Talk.

Nancy Savoca attended New York University Film School.  She currently resides in West Nyack, NY.

For more information, contact Renata Gangemim (201) 684-7367 or mgangemi@ramapo.edu.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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