Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts Grand Opening

(left to right) Qualcomm Institute programs coordinator Trish Stone, Joanne Mony Park ‘10, M.G. Evangelista ‘10 and Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts faculty director Michael Trigilio, of the Department of Visual Arts.

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Staff members (left to right) Cynthia Gutierrez, Kiana Friscia, Tara Nadeau and Reanna Sweis greet guests.

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From left, Deepak Israni, School of Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta and Varsha Israni.

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Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla (far left) and Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth Simmons (far right) with the Israni family and guests.

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Far right, Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth Simmons greets Varsha Israni (far left), with Senior Executive Director of Development Rebecca Tseng Smith (left) and Department of Physics Professor R. Sekhar Chivukula (center).

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Recent alumni (left to right) Conrad Jones '21 and Markus Clipper '21 attended the opening.

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The Israni family and friends gather in front of the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts sign and plaque.

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Deepak and Varsha Israni with their son Rohan in front of the images of Suraj Israni.

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The screening room in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood Mosaic Building was filled with guests, faculty, staff and alumni before the programming began.

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Professor and Muir College provost K. Wayne Yang (right) speaking with campus leadership. Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla and Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth Simmons gave opening remarks.

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“What is being established is the future of film studies in Southern California — a responsibility we take very seriously as a public institution,” said Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta.

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Michael Trigilio is the inaugural director of the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts. A faculty member in the Department of Visual Arts, Trigilio welcomed guests and introduced the alumni speakers and their films.

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(left to right) Joanne Mony Park ’10, M.G. Evangelista ’10 and Michael Trigilio discuss the filmmaking process. Short films by Park and Evangelista were screened for the opening of the center.

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Audience members engage with the films and filmmakers. The Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts has a series of film screenings planned, open to the entire community.

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Joanne Mony Park ’10 received their bachelor's degree from the UC San Diego Department of Visual Arts.

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Programming for the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts will be centered in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood Mosaic Building.

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