News & Events
April 2009
Gilbert Just as "Generous" Second Time Around
Incredibly generous. That is how DI students described Peter Gilbert after his last visit to the Institute. And true to form, Gilbert left the same impression on the current crop of DI students during his second visit to campus. The acclaimed filmmaker recently came to UF to share his expertise with students and to screen his latest documentary film, At the Death House Door. But the highlight of the visit for first-year DI students was a pitch session with the filmmaker. Each student team presented a thesis film idea to Gilbert and received a critique on presentation and story development.
The student teams were impressed with both the depth and the breadth of Gilbert’s critiques. “It was so refreshing to hear feedback on our prospective thesis films,” said Jameil Hamilton. “His feedback was an invaluable part of evaluating the viability of our film idea. The amount of time he spent with each group asking questions and trying to ascertain the crux of our film was a pleasant surprise.” Peter Salamone added, “He offered great constructive criticism. It’s a work in process and he really helped.”
Gilbert also took time during the screening of his own film to meet personally with two students about a new idea. Saman Piracha said, “Since we were so new to the idea, his advice and direction was invaluable. He spent almost two hours with us to work out the details and share his own experiences. He was a huge help!”
In addition to listening to first-year pitches, Gilbert also met with each of the second-year teams to review their creative thesis projects.
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