By Samantha Thomson ’09 (Communication and Media)

Public Affairs Intern

Scene from New York premiere of documentary film “This Land May Be Profitable to Those That Will Adventure It” on Sept. 9. Photo submitted

The New York City premiere of the documentary film “This Land May Be Profitable to Those That Will Adventure It” on Sept. 9 celebrated the collaborative efforts of students and faculty from New Paltz and the University of Noord Holland.

“I am thrilled with the final project. It holds a lot of cultural significance for both institutions from Holland and New York State,” said Gregory Bray (Communication and Media), faculty adviser to the project. “The SUNY students were true ambassadors for the college.”

With support from Bruce Sillner, dean of the Center for International Programs, the collaboration was established as a part of the celebration of the Hudson River Quadricentennial. The project resulted in three live, interactive Web programs; a Web video report on the event PICNIC New York, which celebrates Dutch enterprises in the United States; and the longer-form documentary.

“The experience made us bond together and after the first project things went along swimmingly,” said Dan Barry ’10 (Communication and Media).

Bray said that the new era of media includes creating content streamed to the web and having an understanding of international connections.

Students learned from hands-on experiences and were encouraged to experiment. “You just have to be willing to give it a go and fail,” said Bray. “When things went wrong, we laughed and then figured it out.”

Jaimie Pattipeilohy, an international exchange student from Haarlem, Netherlands, attended the premiere of the film, which was held on the rooftop terrace of Rievtvel Architects in the Film Center Building, on 46th Street and 9th Avenue, New York.

“The opportunities that projects like these open up to students and faculties alike in both nations are awesome,” said Pattiepeilohy. “And the people that you meet are energetic, creative, and like-minded. It is a really positive thing to be involved in.”

Other New Paltz Communication and Media students involved in the project were:

• Jarred Thomas ’09

• Mellisa Misner ’10

• Emily Myett ’10

• Adam Schwartz ’10

• Cat Tosiello ’10

• Tina Warren ’10

Daniel Butler ’10g (English), ’08 (Communication and Media) and Joseph Vlachos (Communication and Media) also worked on the project.