Released on: July 14, 2008, 5:49 am

Press Release Author: The Art Institutes International Minnesota

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary: Rolf Belgum, Minneapolis filmmaker and instructor at The Art
Institutes International Minnesota, received the 2008 Grand Jury $10,000 Prize for
his film, She Unfolds by Day at this year's CineVegas Film Festival in Las Vegas.

Press Release Body: Rolf Belgum, Minneapolis filmmaker and instructor at The Art
Institutes International Minnesota, received the 2008 Grand Jury $10,000 Prize for
his film, She Unfolds by Day at this year's CineVegas Film Festival in Las Vegas.
She Unfolds by Day explores the afternoon in which a frustrated middle-aged son
tries to manage his misanthropic 80-year-old mother. Along with his dog, they cope
with signs of Alzheimer\'s, and her wandering draws her to nearby woods where the
forms and rhythms of eco-systems shape their story. A series of disjointed loops
melds fiction, documentary and nature elements into a strange mixture of heightened
reality and unconscious imagery. She Unfolds by Day reintroduces life forms and
natural elements as inseparable from our story. Belgum spent four years weaving
visuals of tiny creatures from his backyard, animated motions of his dog and sublime
expressions of wolf life with the antics of his forgetful 80-year-old mother.

Robert Koehler, from Variety reviews She Unfolds by Day, "A son\'s frustrated efforts
to help his aging mother cope with Alzheimer\'s disease is given anything but
standard treatment in Rolf Belgum\'s fluid, dreamy and beautiful \"She Unfolds by
Day.\" American narrative films about illness and family pressures rarely use poetic
expression and stream-of-consciousness, but Belgum\'s is that rarity, and stands at
the center of the blend of fiction and documaking that is world cinema\'s most
interesting current trend. Such distinctiveness will give the pic a leg up with
major art-oriented fests, if not buyers."
(http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937476.html?categoryid=1043&cs=1)

She Unfold by Day stars Belgum's mother (Merrilyn Belgum), wife (Julia Belgum),
friend (Christopher Wells), and dog, (Jacques). When asked about the honor of
premiering his film, She Unfolds by Day at CineVegas, Rolf Belgum said, "I am so
happy to have been invited I can't even tell you. In a really strange way this City
is the perfect place to launch this film." Belgum also adds, "I hope people find the
film genuine. I guess my hope is that people will leave the theater with a bit more
curiosity about the small life forms that surround us in our everyday life."

About Rolf Belgum:
Rolf Belgum received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in visual art at the University of
Minnesota and his Master of Fine Arts Degree in filmmaking from The University of
California at San Diego. His film Driver 23 is the lowest budget film ever purchased
by Showtime network and aired on the Sundance Channel from 2001-2003. His work has
been reviewed in The New York Times, Village Voice, Art In America, and Bomb
magazine. Belgum was selected as one of five feature length filmmakers for the 2000
Whitney Biennial along with Errol Morris and Harmony Kornine. To learn more about
Rolf Belgum and his films, visit http://fenrisfilms.com/.

Founded in 1964 as Lowthian College, The Art Institutes International Minnesota is a
diverse, dynamic institution of higher education whose mission is to educate
students for creative careers. The Art Institutes International Minnesota is one of
The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 40 locations throughout
North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and
culinary arts professionals. The website for The Art Institutes International
Minnesota can be found at www.artinstitutes.edu/minneapolis.



Web Site: http://www.artinstitutes.edu/minneapolis

Contact Details: Anj Kozel, Director of Communications
The Art Institutes International Minnesota
15 South 9th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
P: 612-656-6862
F: 612-338-2417
E: akozel@aii.edu