Joshua Caldwell (FCLC ’06) won the mtvU Student Filmmaker Award at the 15th annual MTV Movie Awards for his film The Beautiful Lie, on Saturday, June 3, at Sony Studios in Culver City, Calif. The award, presented for the first time this year, carries with it a multi-platform development deal with mtvU, MTV’s college network.
Caldwell said he was pleased by the award, not least because of the opportunities it affords him. “This is my career,” he said. “This is who I am, so it was very gratifying to be recognized.” He realized he’d won the award when actor and director Zach Braff rose to deliver the student award, and instead of listing the nominees, began to talk about the winning film. “And I realize it’s my film,” Caldwell said. “Oh my God, I won.”
The Beautiful Lie, about a young woman coping with the consequences of cheating on her boyfriend, was chosen for the award by voters who logged onto MTV.com, and a panel of industry judges. Caldwell filmed his awards night experience, and will debut the finished product on mtvU on Monday, June 12. The complete awards ceremony airs on Thursday, June 8, at 9 p.m.
A Seattle native, Caldwell majored in communications and minored in English at Fordham. He studied in Florence, Italy, for the spring semester of his junior year, which he considers the highlight of his college career. Caldwell is working on a script, “Coincidence,” which he’ll pitch to film producers beginning in August. He is engaged to Danielle Giordano (FCLC ’04), and the couple plans to move to Los Angeles in the near future.
The Beautiful Lie also won the Award of Distinction at the 2006 Videographer Awards, and has been accepted into the 2006 Seattle True Independent Film Festival. Caldwell’s film company, Meydenbauer Entertainment, has produced 13 short films, including one about teen suicide, American Tragedy, which has won several awards, including honorable mentions at the Seattle Times Annual Short Film Contest and the 49th Annual Columbus International Film Festival.
