Columbia College Hollywood Student is Finalist in L.A. Live Score Film Festival

Yesmalem Yeshaw, a senior at Columbia College Hollywood, was one of 10 finalists in the Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival, which was held at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Los Angeles.  The Festival, which attracted over 100 entries from film schools across the region, paired filmmakers with composers who created original scores that were performed live-to-picture by the Helix Collective classical ensemble.

“It was a wonderful experience to see my short silent film There She Was presented in a totally fresh, new, and creative way at the L.A. Live Score Film Festival,” says Yeshaw, who wrote and directed the film.  “There aren’t many events that bring filmmakers and composers together, and I’m grateful to have had my entry selected for inclusion.”

Yeshaw grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and graduated from Magic Carpet High School in 2012, where his interest in filmmaking was kindled.  He gained production experience at the Blue Nile Film and Television Academy, also in Addis Ababa.  In 2015, he and a group of fellow filmmakers (and friends) formed Shemane Films, a small production company that produced features and documentary projects.

In 2016, he decided to pursue a degree in filmmaking in the U.S.  After reviewing the program offerings at USC, UCLA, New York Film Academy, and Vancouver Film School, he chose to enroll at Columbia College Hollywood.

“I selected CCH because it had everything that I was looking for in a film school:  small classes, access to experienced faculty, and the opportunity to work with equipment in your first year,” says Yeshaw.  “Another big benefit of CCH is the culture of teamwork and creating partnerships. Because filmmaking is such a collaborative process, learning how to navigate group dynamics so you can build a strong creative team has been incredibly important.  It will help me, as well as all of my fellow students, to be very successful when we bring our skills to the marketplace.”

Yeshaw is on track to graduate from Columbia College Hollywood with a BFA in Cinema and Television.  After graduation, he aims to continue gaining valuable production experience in Los Angeles.  He’ll then return to Ethiopia to produce films that present “good, untold stories about Ethiopia and Africa to the rest of the world.”

About Columbia College Hollywood

Founded in 1952, Columbia College Hollywood is a nonprofit, regionally accredited liberal arts college with a focus on creative media.

Columbia College Hollywood educates students in the art and science of communications and the diverse media of contemporary storytelling within an exploration of the liberal arts.

Columbia College Hollywood is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) to offer Bachelor of Fine Arts and Associate of Fine Arts degree programs in Cinema with an emphasis in acting, cinematography, directing, editing and visual effects, new media, producing, sound, and writing.