Sara Newens

Cohort
2014
Graduation Year
2014
stanford tree logo
Sara Newens has been involved in film and television for over a decade, working primarily as a video editor for CBS News in New York City. Sara is a recent graduate of the M.F.A. Documentary Film and Video Program at Stanford University, where she was awarded a Princess Grace Foundation scholarship, and is currently expanding her student film, Top Spin, into a feature documentary with Mina T. Son. Her film accomplishments include Student Academy Award Regional Finalist, Best Short Documentary at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and a CINE Golden Eagle Award; and film screenings at many festivals including Sarasota, Starz Denver, Rooftop Summer Series, Lunafest, Mill Valley, Big Sky, BendFilm, and Cinequest. She has also worked for The Edit Center, Barefoot Workshops, and as an Assistant Producer for the award-winning PBS feature documentary, New Year Baby. She received a B.S. in Mass Communication from Miami University of Ohio in 2001. 
 

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS:

Princess Grace Foundation Award, 2010

Tanglewood 

hd video
JUNE, 2011
VIDEO DURATION: 16:35 MIN.
Watch Video

A resilient young woman learns how the emotional intelligence of horses can facilitate healing as she wrestles with a grim prognosis.

Awards, Festivals, and Screenings

Best Documentary Short, Prescott Film Festival, 2012
Silver Award Winner, Student Film Competition, California Film Awards, 2011
Semi-Finalist, Angelus Student Film Awards, 2011
Napa Valley Film Festival, 2012
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, 2012
NextFrame Film Festival, 2012
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2012
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, 2012

Fireline 

16mm color film
JUNE, 2010
VIDEO DURATION: 6:11 MIN.
Watch Video

A look into the physical and emotional intensity of fighting wildland fires.

Awards, Festivals, and Screenings

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2011
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles at Sunset Gower Studios, 2011
Rural Route Film Festival, 2011

Top Spin 

hd video
Co-directed by Mina T. Son
MARCH, 2010
VIDEO DURATION: 11:32 MIN.
Watch Video

With hard work and family sacrifice, a young table tennis champion works towards becoming one of the top players in the world.

Awards, Festivals, and Screenings

Regional Finalist, Student Academy Awards, 2010
CINE Golden Eagle Award, Student Division – Documentary, 2010
Best Short Documentary, San Diego Asian Film Festival, 2010
Cinema by the Bay, San Francisco Film Society, 2011
Traverse City Film Festival, 2011
Asian American International Film Festival, 2011
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2011
Newport Beach Film Festival, 2011
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, 2011
Cinequest Film Festival, 2011
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2011
IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival, 2011
LUNAfest, 2010
Mill Valley Film Festival, 2010
BendFilm, 2010
Starz Denver Film Festival, 2010
Cantor Arts Center, Party on the Edge, 2010

The Comfort of Cold 

16mm black and white film
DECEMBER, 2009
VIDEO DURATION: 4:13 MIN.
Watch Video

A portrait of one man's ritual escape into the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay and the art that is influenced by his meditative experience.

Awards, Festivals, and Screenings

Semi-Finalist, Angelus Awards, 2010
WNET's Reel 13 Shorts Program, broadcast, 2012
Wild and Scenic Film Festival, 2012
Neuse Riverkeeper Film Festival, 2012
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2011
STARZ Denver Film Festival, 2010
Rooftop Films Summer Series, 2010
Sarasota Film Festival, 2010
San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, 2010
Alaska Ocean Film Festival, 2010

 

Contact

Info Links