The following is a submission from Santa Monica College.
The short-form documentary “Rhythm & Harmony” showcasing BroadStage’s artistic residency with four-time GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning musician Stanley Clarke, is an official selection at the 26th Newport Beach Film Festival, which runs Oct. 16-23, 2025.
The documentary was made by Santa Monica College (SMC) students from the college’s Short-Form Visual Media Production (Media 21) class taught by Communications & Media Studies instructor/Emmy-nominated director, writer & producer Roxanne Messina Captor, and under the supervision of Design Technology professor Walt Louie and Film Production instructor Vishal Solanki.
“Rhythm & Harmony,” which was directed and produced by Messina Captor, will screen in the Short Documentaries category at the festival, on Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. (The Lot 3, Fashion Island). The film “Dickens of a Christmas”—of which Captor is an executive producer, alongside Catherine Fridey, Jason Wan Lim, and Michael Walker—is also screening as an official selection at the NBFF in the Features Narrative category, at 2 p.m., Oct. 19 (Triangle 1 Theater).
Four-time Grammy award-winning composer and legendary musician Stanley Clarke’s three-year artistic residency at BroadStage (the presenting body which operates out of The Eli & Edythe Broad Stageat the SMC Performing Arts Center) included performances, curation, and life-changing mentorship opportunities for SMC and Santa Monica High School music students.
“Rhythm & Harmony,” provides a glimpse into the artistic residency as it developed in partnership with SMC, and is packed with behind-the-scenes moments, student performances, and anecdotes from Clarke about mentorship. It features an “Artist Talk” interview by SMC Music Department Chair Brian Driscoll and reflections from SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery.
In 2022, Clarke became a Jazz Master honoree by the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor the U.S. bestows on jazz artists. He was honored with the prestigious Miles Davis Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival for his entire body of work. A member of Guitar Player Magazine’s “Gallery of Greats,” he received Bass Player Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Clarke was selected as part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture’s permanent collection in Washington D.C.
Santa Monica College offers an Associate Degree and Certificate of Achievement in Broadcast Programming and Production, with an array of courses that provide hands-on training in the areas of television, radio, and internet broadcasting, including broadcast news, sports, promotional videos, podcasting, short form and emerging media (360/virtual and augmented reality). The Media 21 (Short-Form Visual Media Production) course, whose students worked on “Rhythm & Harmony”, is one of several such courses in the program. To learn more, visit smc.edu/media21.
For more information on the Newport Beach Film Festival 2025, visit newportbeachfilmfest.com. And to learn more about BroadStage’s Artist in Residency program, see broadstage.org/activations/artist-in-residence. More information about Roxanne Messina Captor’s other work is available at roxannemessinacaptor.com.
