Presented by Pratt Institute’s School of Art, Film/Video Department, and Pratt Presents, this event will be live and in-person.

Pratt’s School of Art and Film/Video Department and Pratt Presents are proud to host a special evening with Pratt alumni and collaborative duo Glenn Ficarra (B.F.A. ‘91) and John Requa (B.F.A. ‘91)—screenwriters, directors, and producers known for their work on successful comedy-dramas like I Love You Phillip Morris, Focus, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. Join us for a discussion about their time at Pratt, their working process, collaborative style, and fascinating career paths. The conversation will be led by Pratt Film/Video students and moderated by School of Art Dean Jorge Oliver and Film/Video Chair Kara Hearn.

Pratt is proud to host such accomplished alums. Ficarra and Requa met at Pratt in the late eighties and studied in what was then called the Media Arts Program. They have been collaborating ever since. They met in a first-year Foundation class taught by the painter Mary Buckley Parriott and dedicated their film I Love You Phillip Morris to a faculty mentor from Pratt, Paul Corrigan.

As writers, Ficarra and Requa penned Bad Santa (directed by Terry Zwigoff), Bad News Bears (directed by Richard Linklater), and Jungle Cruise (directed by Jaume Collet-Serra). They wrote and directed Focus (starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie) and I Love You Phillip Morris (starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor), which was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. They directed Crazy, Stupid, Love (starring Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone) and Whisky Tango Foxtrot (starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, and Martin Freeman). More recently, they were directors and executive producers on the NBC television series This is Us (with an ensemble cast, including Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Brown) and a new limited series for Apple Studios called WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork (starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway) due out this spring.

The School of Art Lecture Series invites prominent conversation-generating speakers to Pratt each year. Past events have featured luminaries, including journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, painter Lisa Yuskavage, filmmaker Wener Herzog, artist Hank Willis Thomas, and art historian Sarah Lewis. The School of Art Lecture Series is supported by Pratt Presents, Alumni Relations and the Longfellow/Dulmage Fund.

The School of Art provides a rigorous, student-centered education that emphasizes risk-taking and exploration within a dynamic and diverse community. Guided by outstanding faculty, students integrate theory and practice, develop their creative voices, and actively engage with the world. Pratt’s Film/Video Department has been named among the best in the country by outlets such as Variety, USA Today, The Wrap, and the Hollywood Reporter. While Pratt has been granting degrees to innovative film and video makers for decades, the Film/Video Department is currently celebrating its tenth anniversary.

A Film/Video Department and School of Art event

Moderated by Dean Jorge Oliver & Chair of Film/Video Kara Hearn

Free and open to the public in-person. Limited seating available.

Reservations required

Registration

Time: 6:30 pm — 9:00 pm

Free!