April 10, 2002
INFORMATION: Sue Bozman or John McElwain, (661) 362-3415 or 3494

Guggenheim Fellowship Awarded to College Animation Professor

SANTA CLARITA ­ Sheila Sofian, chair of the College of the Canyons Animation Department, has been awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for an ongoing film project about James McCloskey and his crusade to free from incarceration people wrongly convicted of capital crimes.

“It’s really exciting to have my work recognized this way, and I’m still having a difficult time believing it’s true,” Sofian said of the award, which will allow her to make significant progress on “Truth Has Fallen,” a feature-length film that will tell the story of McCloskey through interviews with three people he helped free. So far, McCloskey has reversed 25 murder convictions that never should have occurred.

“James McCloskey does incredible work, and the people I’ve interviewed were very honest and forthcoming,” Sofian said. “Their stories deserve to be heard.”

The film will blend live action with animation in an effort to connect with audiences in a creative and empathetic way while exploring the circumstances that allowed such injustices to occur, Sofian said. The film also will delve into issues such as the death penalty, racism and the state of our justice system.

“It’s always interesting to allow people to see things differently,” Sofian said of her decision to go with the live action/animated format. “Blending live action and animation is a major undertaking; I’ve never done this before.”

She does, however, have a collection of award-winning short films to her credit, among them “A Conversation with Haris,” a painting-on-glass animated film that describes an 11-year-old Bosnian boy’s personal experiences with war, and “Survivors,” an experimental documentary animation about domestic violence.

Sofian acknowledged she is naturally drawn to social issues that affect people’s lives in dramatic ways. Likewise, her work reflects topics about which she is passionate.

Sofian studied at The United World College of South East Asia in Singapore and Old Dominion University in Virginia before receiving her bachelor-of-arts degree in film and painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. She completed her master of fine arts at California Institute of the Arts. Her work has been used in a wide range of media ­ from feature films to television series to Internet sites.