AitN: May 21, 2018

Lions are both in front of and behind the camera! On May 19, director and Associate Professor of Film at the School of the Arts Ramin Bahrani ’96 debuted a film adaptation of the classic dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 on HBO. Starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon, the film is a modern retelling of the 1953 work by Ray Bradbury. The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution, a documentary about women in the food industry, premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival in Toronto on April 26. The film profiles seven women, including Iron Chef Anita Lo ’88 (former owner of Michelin-starred New York City restaurant Annisa).

Broadway star Brandon Victor Dixon ’07 released his first single, “We Are,” in early May. Proceeds from the song will go to Young New Yorkers, an organization aimed at enrolling sentenced juveniles in arts programs instead of sending them to jail. In more theater news, composer Tom Kitt ’96 – recently nominated for a Tony for his work on Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical – is back with a new Broadway musical, Head Over Heels, which features the songs of the all-female rock band The Go-Go’s. Kitt provided musical supervision, orchestrations and arrangements; previews begin June 23.

Crystal Hana Kim ’09, SOA’14 conducted a Facebook Live event (hear her give a shoutout to the Columbia libraries at the 3:30 mark!) at the HarperCollins headquarters on May 10. The talk was in advance of her highly anticipated debut novel, If You Leave Me, which will be released in August.

On May 11, The Nation named Atossa Araxia Abrahamian ’08, JRN’11 as its new Senior Editor; The Nation is America’s oldest continuously published weekly magazine. In more new job news, the American Bankers Association recently named Naomi Camper ’90 as its Chief Policy Officer.

Nine College alumni received Fulbrights for 2018–19. Danny Li ’18 received the UK Partnership Award, which will enable him to study toward a degree in legal and political theory at University College London. Fulbright English Teaching Assistant awards, which allow recipients to teach English around the world, went to Kaitlin Hickey ’18 (teaching in France), Maleeha Chida ’18 (teaching in Spain), Alexandra Fay ’18 (teaching in Russia) and Paula Pineros Medina ’18 (teaching in Russia). Fulbright Open Study/Research awards, which allow recipients to design their own projects in countries around the world, went to Emmalina Glinskis ’17 (researching carbon sequestration potential of shade-grown coffee agroforestry in the Western Ghats in India), Trevor Menders ’18 (researching the American impact on art history in Meiji, Japan), Amber Officer-Narvasa ’18 (researching early Hindi film in Trinidad and Tobago) and Samuel Sugerman ’17 (researching literary ideals of humanity and the birth of progressive education in Germany).