What Our Alumni Are Doing

Filmmaking Graduate: Julie Pacino, daughter of Al Pacino, formed production company Poverty Row Entertainment with writer/director Jennifer DeLia. Her feature film, Billy Bates, will screen at Sunshine Cinema in April 2013.

Eve Hewson (Daughter of Rocker Bono) is appearing opposite Sean Penn and Frances McDormand in This Must Be the Place. She also played the lead role in The Script's music video "For The First Time."

Chika Anadu was accepted to the Cannes Cinefondation Residence with the screenplay treatment she completed while studying at New York Film Academy. She was also granted a $10,000 2010 Focus Features Africa First Program award for completion of her next short, presented by Focus Features.

Eric Demeusy created the original commercial for the Droid and the opening 3D laser light effects using the Disney castle logo for Tron: Legacy. Demeusy also created the title graphics for the TV series Justified and worked on commercials for Toyota and Visa.

Jason Liles plays multiple aliens in the upcoming Men In Black 3 and shares scenes with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Emma Thompson. He has been featured in Curb Your Enthusiasm, A Legal Mind, and Lights Out and was a stand-in for Royal Pains.

Mahsa Saeidi-Azcuy starred on Donald Trump's reality show The Apprentice on NBC after graduating from the filmmaking conservatory at New York Film Academy. She was formerly an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn and is the host of two web shows on the side. Saeidi-Azcuy has been featured on Extra TV, Studio B, America Live with Megyn Kelly, Fox & Friends, MSNBC, Headline News, Huckabee, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Law Journal, CBS News, and New York Daily News.

Martino Zaidelis worked on the 2010 Academy Award winning film El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secret In Their Eyes), winner of Best Foreign Language Film.

Jonathan Morgan Heit is voicing character Cubby on Disney Junior. In addition, he has appeared in Date Night, Valentine's Day and Bedtime Stories. His television credits include Monk, How I Met Your Mother, ER, General Hospital and Close to Home. Jonathan appeared in Disney's feature length direct-to-video In Search of Santa Paws, and has been seen in commericals for Comcast, Zales, Dodge, Wal-Mart, Publix and Barilla Pasta.

Jessica Lee Rose played Jen K. on ABC's Greek., the love interest of the lead character. She is best known for playing lonelygirl15 on youtube, which garnered her a Webby. She has also appeared in SyFy's Ghost Town and alongside Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me.

Paolo Romio ('07), alum of New York Film Academy's One Year Acting Conservatory, starred in the lifetime movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial In Italy. The film, based on the true story of the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher while studying in Italy, stars Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Marcia Gay Harden (Into the Wild). Paolo plays lead Raffaele Sollecito, the man eventually convicted of the murder.

Emily Morrow is the Assistant Production Coordinator for Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and 2, the final two films in the Twilight franchise. Since graduation, she has also worked with Golden Globe nominated Ashley Judd, Emmy nominated Jeffrey Tambor, SAG award winner Liv Tyler, and Oscar nominated Terrence Howard.

Sal Irizarry is currently in pre-production for a film he developed during his time at the New York Film Academy. Irizarry already has a few A-list actors lined up and is reaching out to others to become involved in the project. He is working with the Detroit Film Commission and begins shooting in Detroit March/April of 2011.

He has also found success with his sizzle reel, shot for his NYFA Reality Television Class project; it is being shopped at a couple of networks.

"Showing Up", www.showingupmovie.com is Sal's new documentary feature. They are in post and preparing to submit it to the Cannes Independent Film Festival this coming February.

Sal has also added another feature to his company's slate called "Far Across Yonder" with his "Showing Up" partner, James Morrison, who had a recurring role as Counter Terrorist Unit Director Bill Buchanan on 24.

They begin filming in Louisiana, June 2011.

Stine is the Staff Producer at Ghost Robot. – She is overseeing all development and production, from beginning through post. Ghost Robot is a commercial and music video house in New York, working with Lady GaGa, Kanye West, Common, and Bjork. She wants you to know she loves it!

Producing Grad: Geraldine Bassett
Geraldine is working as a Producer in her own production company, Echelle Productions in Belgium. She's currently producing a series of films with a Belgian chef about the food industry for DVD and TV. She's also developing a treatment with a director in NY for a documentary about the American outsider artist, Henry Darger.

Irene Del Campo Lopez works in the Production Department of the hit television show Españoles en el Mundo, which airs on the Spanish National Channel in prime-time. Though she is based in Madrid, Spain, the show travels the world introducing the audience to different cultures.

Toni is currently working at Elephant Eye Films, an Independent Production Studio in NYC. She is also producing an Independent Feature Film entitled Love Lies & Seeta which is a romantic comedy and is being shot in NYC. She is also actively directing music videos. She has done 4 to date with another slated to be shot in late August. Lastly, she is sending out her script for Tales of a Tomboi which she is looking to get picked up by a pay TV network.

Tamara is currently a producer at Pomegranate Studios. Since graduating in May of '09 she's been busy doing the following:
PRODUCER:
The Land Of Lost Crusaders
Pomegranate Films
Feature Length Documentary
Halya High-And-Mighty
Pomegranate Images
Narrative Feature

PRODUCER(In Development)
Music Videos For The Reverie Album
Artist: Jann Klose

CO-PRODUCER
Site4View
Jordania Is My Family Name (In Development)
Feature Length Documentary.

Paul Simon worked as a location assistant on the Dutch movie "Isabelle" from Academy Award nominated Director Ben Sombogaard. He also worked at Luxemboug's biggest production company Samsa Film, shifting responsibilities between features and television projects

Producing Grad: Lyndsay Meabon
Lyndsay is working as a full time PA at TruTV Creative Services. She's always had her eye on a career in television.

Producing Grad: Gustavo Rebelo
After graduation, Gustavo worked on 6 features shooting in New York and produced one webisode. He is now in Brazil UPMing 2 pilots, coordinating another pilot and a doc that is in the fundraising stage.

Lacey has made great connections and has put those connections to good use in L.A. In January 2010 the production team she is involved with shot an Independent horror film called Trick of the Witch. They shot the whole film in 14 days on weekends only, in a mansion in Whittier County Ca. She's now discerning distribution.

Approximately a month after graduation and Diego is leaving for Los Angeles to work at La Banda Films, a production company that focuses on commercials for the Latin-American culture.

Leah is working for Pimienta in Puerto Rico, as Production Office Coordinator.

They're finishing post- production on The Caller, with director Mathew Parkhill (Dot the I), DP Alexander Melman (The Libertine), Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight), Stephen Moyer (True Blood). They went to Cannes to present their trailer.

On a personal note, Cannes was an amazing experience for her! She called it fantastic.

She is also a television Production Coordinator with Salado Media Puerto Rico, advertising with clients like Claro Mobile formerly Verizon for Latin America, Toyota, Banco Popular, Procter & Gamble and other local brands.

Very soon after graduating, Anna got a job as a Unit Production Manager on HGTV's House Hunters International and hasn't left. She's so committed to the show, she will be staying in the U.S. rather than returning to her native Poland and we're happy to have her here.

Barbara has worked in the A.D. dept. of 5 feature films since graduation. Her latest is a 5 million dollar project, and the biggest budget she has worked with to date, entitled Some Day This Pain Will Be Useful To You. Deborah Ann Woll, one of the key players in HBO's True Blood, is joining the ensemble drama which tells the tale of an isolated young adult who must contend with his dysfunctional family the summer before he heads to college. Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu and Stephen Lang are already on board. Roberto Faenza is directing the pic, which adapts the novel by Peter Cameron and shoots next month in New York. John Heyman of World Prods. and Elda Ferri of Jean Viggo Italia are producing.. The film she did just prior to this one was Higher Ground, directed by Oscar nominee Vera Famiga. This was Miss Famiga's first time out as director. She starred in the film as well.

Alma is the CEO, executive producer and director of Anakiev Production. In 2009 Alma produced a feature length documentary entitled Državljan A.T. (Citizen A.T.) which is a portrait of activist leader Aleksandar Todorovič who has spent the last two decades fighting for the rights of the Erased people. The Erased people were those illegaly removed from the book of permanent sojourn after the independence of Slovenia in 1992. On July 20th the film was screened on the national televison channel SLO1 in a prime time slot called Documentary of the Month.

In the summer of 2010 she also produced a feature length fiction film entitled Normalno življenje (Normal Life). The film is a comedy that follows grotesque actions between three main protagonists as they meet and grow from enemies to friends. The Slovenia cast included Slovenian A-List actors including, Iva Babić, Primož Ekart, Walter Dragosavljević Rutar, Marko Simčič. The crew was an international one including American, Cuban, and European members. Currently the film is in post-production.

After Adam finished his internship with the Maury Show which he very much enjoyed, he decided to get a Bachelor's degree in Film and Television and is excited to be doing that at St. John's university in the Fall of '10.

Alenka has begun collaborating with world famous director and NYFA instructor Jasny Voiteck on his as yet untitled upcoming movie. Everyone knows how much Alenka loves photography. To see her without a camera is an unusual day indeed. So it makes perfect sense that she has produced a 50-minute HD documentary about the renowned Slovenian photographer Stojan Kerbler, entitled The World Didn't Know It Landed in a Poem.

What she is most excited about at the moment is that the film she produced entitled "Coming Home" is an official selection at the Montreal Film Festival 2010 and we wish her all the best of luck.

Deeksha found her niche at the NYFA when her passion for producing cross crossed with her passion for marketing films. She found that she could do it all. And now she is working on the marketing and publicity of the next Anil Kapoor Film Company release 'No Problem' in Mumbai. She also started work on an adaptation of a Disney film they are doing in December of this year. In addition, she is reading scripts and giving feedback for Anil Kapoor's daughter, Sonam Kapoor who is one of India's biggest rising stars. All this within a month of graduation. Talent always wins out and we congratulate Deeksha on making the dream she shared with the Chair of the Producing Department, Anita Tovich come true..

Ricardo Sean Thompson has served as a Production Coordinator at Nickelodeon Magazine and Nick Jr. Magazine. He has written the screenplays of urban action films The Ski Mask Way starring and produced by multi-platinum selling rapper 50 Cent and The Story starring multi-platinum rap artist Young Buck.

Filmmaking Grad: Leonard Zelio
Leonard Zelio won the prestigious Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors Award as Best Director for the Retablo Hispanic Theater's production "An Empty Shoebox" where he shared the stage with Alfonso Cuaron and Alfred Molina and the International ACE Award as Best Producer for the play "Happy with My Mojo." His first documentary feature Metralleta was picked up for theatrical distribution in Venezuela and earned the Best Music Award in the Venezuelan International Film Festival. He was named one of the most promising directors by Venezuelan magazine "5to Dia" and one of the Top 99 Most Successful Venezuelan Artists by "El Universal.".

Paul Dano won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for L.I.E. and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a cast in a Motion Picture for his role as Dwayne in Little Miss Sunshine. He was also nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for There Will Be Blood. Other credits include The Girl Next Door, The Emperor's Club, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, Where the Wild Things Are and Cowboys and Aliens.

Joshua Leonard starred in The Blair Witch Project in addition to projects including Men of Honor, Prom Night and Deuces Wild. In addition, Joshua has appeared on television shows including CSI, Criminal Minds, United States of Tara, and Hung and provided voices for the Fight Club video game.

Mohammed Diab was featured in a Vanity Fair piece documenting the courage and character of Egypt's revolutionaries. Mohammed was selected for the article for his film 678, which examines the daily sexual harassment the majority of Egyptian women face. On the film, Vanity Fair comments it is "a brave look at the prevalence of sexual harassment in his homeland, across lines of class, economics, and religion. Diab's critique of Egypt's chauvinist culture speaks to oppressed women and men alike."

Filmmaking Grad: Jeff Zimbalist
Jeff Zimbalist directed the award-winning documentary Favela Rising. The award list includes Best Emerging Documentary Filmmaker at Tribeca Film Festival, Best Documentary at NY Latino Film Festival, Overall Festival Winner at Annapolis Film Festival, Best Documentary at Cinema Paradise Film Festival, and Best Feature Film by the IDA Documentary Achievement Award.

Jacopo Sarno starred in Italian Christmas comedy A Natale Mi Sposo. He is currently starring in TV series Non Smettere di Sognare, which he describes as "Glee in Italian." Outside his film and television appearances, Jacopo also wrote, sang and produced the song "This Is Christmas," which has been selling well on iTunes. All proceeds are donated to an association that gives medical care to children in Madagascar.

Kim Chapiron won the Best New Narrative Filmmaker Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010 for feature Dog Pound which he wrote and directed. He also wrote/produced/directed Sheitan starring Vincent Cassel. Chapiron is a founding member of Kourtrajmé, a collective of young French filmmakers known for the edgy content of their projects, and has presented his films at festivals all over the world

Bevin Prince portrayed Bevin Mirskey on The CW Teen Drama television series One Tree Hill. She has since then appeared in other television series including Desperate Housewives and House M.D. She also appeared as Ariel in the independent horror film Dark House

Since landing the Lifetime film William & Kate, New York Film Academy Acting Conservatory graduate, Camilla Luddington, has been on a major roll. She starred in an entire season of Showtime’s Californication as Lizzie, joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Jo Wilson, and has been on six episodes of HBO’s True Blood. Not only that, Camilla has been tapped to play Lara Croft in the newest incarnation of the Tomb Raider video game franchise.

Francesco Panzieri has done visual effects for films Clash of the Titans, For Colored Girls, and Madea's Big Happy Family. He also created 3D animatics for the All About Steve DVD (starring Sandra Bullock).

Stephanie Okereke starred in film Through the Glass which she also wrote, directed and produced. The film broke Nigerian records for box office attendance. She has received several awards and nominations for her work as an actress, including the 2003 Reel Award for Best Actress, the 2006 Afro Hollywood Award for Best Actress, and three nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2005, 2009 and 2010. She will launch online magazine "Stephanie" in 2011.

Rick Greenwood premiered Living Dead Light's "To All The Youth" music video on Rolling Stone Magazine online, which he wrote, produced and directed. He used the song in his NYFA thesis film Hinnon Valley which premiered before select screenings of Scream 4 during opening weekend. The Los Angeles Examiner called the film "a masterfully written, superbly directed and all around fabulously produced short."

Aubrey Plaza stars as April Ludgate, the deadpan intern in Parks and Recreation with Amy Phoehler. She also played Seth Rogen's love interest, Daisy in 2009's Funny People directed by Judd Apatow. Other credits include Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Derrick Comedy's Mystery Team, which debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Aubrey appeared in a CollegeHumor short alongside Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, the first episode of "Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz" on Funny or Die, several episodes of Portlandia, and the online series The Jeannie Tate Show. She also starred as Robin Gibney in ESPN's Mayne Street and performed at A Night of 140 Tweets: A Celebrity Tweetathon for Haiti, produced by Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Ben Stiller, and Mike Rosenstein at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.

Eamonn Walker played Kareem Said in the HBO television series Oz, for which he won a CableACE Award. He also played John Othello in a televised production of Shakespeare's Globe Theater's production of Othello. Other credits include In Sickness and in Health, ER, Unbreakable, Tears of the Sun, Lights Out, Kings, and The Messenger.

Analeigh Tipton placed third on America's Next Top Model cycle 11. She made her film debut in The Green Hornet alongside Cameron Diaz and Seth Rogen. Tipton is also signed on to play a babysitter with a crush on Steve Carell's character in Crazy, Stupid, Love alongside Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. She appeared as a guest star on The Big Bang Theory and has done runway fashion modeling for Los Angeles Fashion Week, the Mercedes Benz Fall Fashion Show, Ticket Fashion Show, and Guess. Tyra Banks claimed Analeigh did "the best CoverGirl commercial in the history of America's Next Top Model" and has been labeled a "face to watch" by the New York Times.

Jaime Espinal was the winner of American Development Bank's Hispanic-American Playwriting Competition. His bilingual play No Problemo Amigo was selected as the best new work out of 170 submissions from 17 countries. He just launched the first full production of the show in New York to great reviews.

Jaime Espinal was the winner of American Development Bank's Hispanic-American Playwriting Competition. His bilingual play No Problemo Amigo was selected as the best new work out of 170 submissions from 17 countries. He just launched the first full production of the show in New York to great reviews.

Kemer Stevenson has done 3-D Animation and Visual Effects for motion pictures including
How To Train Your Dragon, Monsters vs Aliens, Megamind, Happy Feet, The Golden Compass, Evan Almighty, The Incredible Hulk, and Night at the Museum.

Michael Soccio co-wrote Men in Black 3 in addition to episodes of King of Queens and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also just sold a comedic screenplay co-written with Jon Favreau, Kevin James and Will Smith, titled "The Assistant" to Columbia/Tri-Star pictures.

Lee Hirsch sold documentary The Bully Project to Academy-Award winning producer Harvey Weinstein at Tribeca Film Festival in 2011. Hirsch previously won an Emmy for his debut film Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony, which also won the Audience and Freedom of Expression Awards at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

Babar Ahmed is labeled by the BBC as one of the most prominent South Asian film directors in America. He has created some of World Bank's most successful videos on Natural Disasters, Urbanization, and Health. His debut film Genius (2003) received awards including a Gold Medal of Excellence and Audience Favorite at the Park City Music Festival, and Best Feature Film and Jury Award at the Velleyfest Film Festival. His second film, the psychological thriller Royal Kill starring Academy Award nominee Pat Morita and Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts was an unexpected hit, becoming one of the lowest budget movies ever to play at AMC Theatres. The movie was distributed nationwide on video in America by Lionsgate in 2010.

Genevieve Detering worked on Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity with director Doug Liman, also serving as his personal assistant for Fair Game with Naomi Watts. Her short film Camel Thorns had tremendous festival success. Among its achievements so far was receiving a merit award from the Los Angeles Festival in Hollywood 2010 and Best Film at the Short Cut Monthly Film night in Melbourne, Australia in the same year, Audience Choice at the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards 2010, being invited for screenings at the International Film Festival of South Africa, Swansea Bay Film Festival in Wales, International Images Film Festival for women in Zimbabwe and screenings in New York. Detering is now fundraising to produce the feature length version of Camel Thorns which she also wrote, and Liman is attached as the executive producer.

Chineze Anyaene received 12 awards for NYFA thesis, Nigerian-American feature film Ije (The Journey) including the Golden Ace Award at Las Vegas International Film Festival and the Melvin Van Peeples Award at the San Francisco Black Film Festival. She is emerging as one of the top Nollywood producers/directors and is a name to watch.

Alison Li worked on upcoming film Premium Rush starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Michael Shannon, Aaron Tveit, and Jennifer Butler. She has worked with Sony Pictures in New york and Doug Liman's production company Hypnotic.

Devin Mahesh works as the Sales and Distribution Coordinator at Hungry Eyes Film & Television, Inc. He joined the company after receiving the Canadian Film & Television Producers Association National Mentorship Award in Canada. While still living in New York, Devin worked with an award winning staff of producers and directors at Billboard, Music Choice, MTV, and BET creating online and mobile video content.

After graduation, Mila worked with the Oscar winning director Jonathan Demme on his documentary Marley about the Jamaican reggae icon, Bob Marley.

Since then Mila has been a Line Producer for television commercials in her native Dominican Republic and will be Line Producing her first Domincan feature this September.

Sin Young is a production manager/Co-Producer/editor for Bennett Media Studio/Critical Density Media. He is producing television show pilots for the Asian market and he has a reality show launching in the fall.

Ron Davis was a top 10 finalist in the Esquire Magazine filmmaker competition with his film The Business Traveler. He also coproduced/directed Pageant which won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Frameline and at Florida Film Festival, the Jury Award for Best Documentary at Honolulu, the Audience Award for Best Feature at Newfest, as well as being official selection at Slamdance and Edinburgh.

Richard Wolf has directed over thirty documentary films for commercial networks and public television, as well as independent productions on BBC, CNN, and other major outlets. His many awards include the World Medal the New York Festival, the Ibero-American Journalism Award presented by EFE (Spanish News Agency), the Prince Rainer Award at the Montecarlo Festival, the Ayrton Senne and Vladimir Herzog awards for special reporting on children and human rights. His documentary Women of the Sand is now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Rob Hardy started the company Rainforest Films which was listed as one of the Top 25 Money Makers in Entertainment (2007) by Black Enterprise Magazine. He has produced This Christmas, Obsessed and Takers and directed episodes of ER, Vampire Diaries, Bones, 90210, Criminal Minds in addition to commercial projects for clients including: CNN, TBS (Turner Broadcasting), American Honda, Coca-Cola, Georgia Lottery and The National Cancer Institute.

James Ordonez has provided financing agreements and production services to films including The Mission (Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons), Proof of Life (Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan), and Vivaldi (Joseph Fiennes and Alfred Molina). He has also produced and directed commercials for Budweiser and Sony, music videos for Shakira, and entertainment events for companies including Sports Illustrated.

Leonard Zelig won the prestigious Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors Award as Best Director for the Retablo Hispanic Theater's production "An Empty Shoebox" where he shared the stage with Alfonso Cuaron and Alfred Molina and the International ACE Award as Best Producer for the play "Happy with My Mojo." His first documentary feature Metralleta was picked up for theatrical distribution in Venezuela and earned the Best Music Award in the Venezuelan International Film Festival. He was named one of the most promising directors by Venezuelan magazine "5to Dia" and one of the Top 99 Most Successful Venezuelan Artists by "El Universal.".

Rod Lopez is a former minor league player with the Baltimore Orioles. His first two shorts Blood and Death and Cuban screened at Madison Square Garden in the New York International Film Festival. He worked as the Programming Manager for CCTV Channel 19, a local station in Baltimore, MD, producing more than 100 shows. Rod has been featured in a number of newspapers and magazines including "The Baltimore Sun," "Filmmaker Magazine," "El Nacional" and a front cover issue on "The Towerlight Magazine.".

Dorottya Mathe produced the Lincoln Center commissioned "Portraits in Dramatic Time" directed by David Michalek. She also co-produced Pardon Us for Living by the Graveyard is Full, directed by French filmmaker Geoffray Barbier, which premiered at the Florida Film Festival and the CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival in NYC. At NYFA Dorottya developed Devoted To Dance as her thesis project, a confessional portrait documentary capturing the illustrious 63 year old choreographer Ivan Marko. The film is about his artistic struggle as well as the struggle with his personal demons. Recently Dorottya screened a rough cut to great critical acclaim. Further, Dorottya has begun distributing Hungarian films in the United States.

Estefania Hernandez worked on upcoming film The Oranges, starring the Emmy Award Winning Hugh Laurie, twice Oscar nominated Catherine Keener, 4 time Golden Globe nominee Allison Janney, and Golden Globe nominee Oliver Platt.

Mark Bamford wrote and directed Good Hope, which took home awards including the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Austin Film Festival was nominated for the Image Award for Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film.

Anthony Badalucco collaborated on their feature film Memory with a cast including two time Oscar nominee Dennis Hopper, two time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret, Titanic star Billy Zane, and Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfe.

Anouar H. Smaine was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Los Angeles Film Festival for the short film Axis of Evil, which he wrote/directed/starred in. The film has also screened in Philadelphia, Toronto, and the International Film Festival of South Africa.

Aris Tzouflas is an assistant at the entertainment law firm Sloss Eckhouse LawCo LLP, who's clients include Bob Dylan, John Hamburg, Wilco, Todd Haynes, Kevin Smith, and Diana Krall.

Dyana Liu co-stars as Suki Sato in the Cartoon Network live-action series Tower Prep. She also co-starred in independent western film Between the Sand the Sky opposite Dee Wallace. In 2009, she appeared in the film Down for Life, which also starred Danny Glover.

Ivy Davila is currently Production Coordinator on the feature film Loyal Servant shooting in Texas. It's an action based religious film. She will be going into prep on another film shooting in Texas soon after she wraps Loyal Servant.

Naomi Sheridan was nominated for the 2004 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for In America, a nomination she shared with father Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father) and sister Kirsten Sheridan (August Rush).

Independent Korean filmmaker Hyunyong Park embarked on a cross-country bike trip on October 1st, 2011. Riding completely alone, he has documented his journey and sent his material back to his team back in New York, which has been made into a real-time documentary web series on bestrongbenaked.com.

Alejandro Chomski's feature debut Today and Tomorrow was nominated for the Argentinean Film Critics Association Award for Best First Film, in addition to awards at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and the Havana Film Festival. He also directed Feel the Noise, produced by Jennifer Lopez.

DB Woodside had reoccuring roles as President Wayne Palmer on hit series 24, Principal Robin Wood on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Derrick Altman on Hellcats. He is currently starring as Malcolm on TV series Single Ladies. Other TV credits include Monk, Castle, Grey's Anatomy, JAG and CSI. DB also starred in feature Romeo Must Die with Jet Li, Aaliyah, and Isaiah Washington.

Michael Vanderlinde has worked as a Production Manager on projects including The Amazing Race, Project Runway, Storm Chasers, Hollywood Treasure, MTV's Ultimate Parkour Challenge, Miss America: Reality Check, and Dress My Next.

Ana Puod works for ABC Broadcasting Corporation (TV5), one of the Philippines' top broadcasting networks. She is involved in the news and current affairs departments. Ana also established the websites Philippine Center for New Media Development and Pinoy Digital Journalist. In April 2011, IJNET selected Ana as the Journalist of the Month.

George Colli is a Fox CT reporter and has covered several major breaking news stories including the Cheshire home invasion trial of Steven Hayes, where he tweeted live from the courtroom and received a mention in the New York Times for his journalism. Colli previously worked as a researcher for NBC Olympics at the 200 Sydney Games.

Miriam Eryan used her NYFA education to score a dream job as a Booking Agent and Producer for The Morning Show in Australia, the highest rated morning program in the country. She has since secured Australia's first interviews with Piers Morgan, Perez Hilton, Linda Hogan, and Nadya Suleman (Octomom).

Naya Rivera stars as Santana on Glee and won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble, a Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress, and an Alma Award for Best Television Actress. She made the Maxim Hot 100 List and was #1 on the AfterEllen Hot List. Naya recently signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album.

Rohit has jointly won over 100 awards for films Life! Camera, Action and Another Day Another Life. His awards include top recognition at festivals including Oregon Film Awards, Canada Int. Film Festival, the Accolade Film Awards, Swansea Bay Film Festival, Golden Door Int. Film Festival and more! Rohit had no prior film experience before enrolling in New York Film Academy.

Chris has done stunt work for films The Smurfs, Leatherheads with George Clooney, The Other Guys with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, Salt, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, The Adjustment Bureau, Captain America, Step Up 3D, and The Good Shepherd. Chris also played villain The Ripper in last year's My Soul to Take and has done work for TV shows including The Sopranos, Blue Bloods, The Late Show with David Letterman, Gossip Girl, and Ugly Betty. Chris received Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Work by a Stunt Ensemble for films Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and I am Legend.

Recently directed a short film "Mombatti" which has been selected for the Short Film Corner at the 64th Cannes Film Festival. Produced & directed a TV commercial for the construction giants "Amrapali Group" with Indian cricket captain M.S. Dhoni. Directed a documentary "Kanya daan". Directed a 26 episodes radio series "Mulla Nasiruddin Zinda hai". Assisted director Anubhav Sinha in "Cash". Executive Producer for a mini series "U-Turn" based on the plight and predicaments of Muhazirs in Pakistan. Executive Producer for several documentaries and radio shows for Akashvaani. Worked on many TV commercials and a few music videos with people like Gajraj Rao and Anupam Sinha.

He is now on pre-producton for his first feature film FATINGEY.

Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most famous basketball players in the world. He is also a graduate of the filmmaking conservatory program. He received private instruction in directing and cinematography at our campus on Universal Studios. Trading his basketball for the camera, he is now a color commentator and analyst for TNT's Inside the NBA.

Michael Staininger directed the feature film "The Tomb" which stars Wes Bentley, Michael Madsen, and Eric Roberts in this updated adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's Ligeia. With a budget close to $9 million and an adapted screenplay written by John Shirley, it is Staininger's feature filmmaking debut.

Gabriela Egito's thesis film, Stuffed, won Best L.A. Short at the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival, Best Foreign Short at the Las Vegas Film Festival, and Best Drama Short at the Atlantic City Cinefest. She also produced the film Synergy, which won an award and was selected to more than 10 international film festivals. In total, Gabby has received 4 awards as a writer, director, producer, and editor, since being enrolled at NYFA in 2010.

September 2010 MFA graduate Bonuk Koo's work placed as a top 20 finalist in the Emerging Focus Competition. His image was chosen out of 1150 images. It was also prominently displayed at The 21st Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition.

September 2010 graduate Ki Joon Kim was selected to participate in the Aperture and SONY sponsored, Photo Camp in New York, 2011. He was also a Finalist for the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award in Dubai, 2012.

May 2011 Photography graduate Ivan Blasser won a Judge's Choice Award in a nationwide photo contest run by the New York chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP.) The competition was open to all professional, serious amateur, and student photographers residing in the United States.

Stormi Henley made it past the first round of auditions in Nashville on American Idol, sending her onto the semifinals in Hollywood after performing for Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez.

Delhi native "Andy" Anupam Maloo has appeared in over six movies and television shows, and is now preparing for his upcoming project based on the famous novel, The Three Musketeers.

Gauri Shinde took a break from her advertising career to pursue filmmaking at NYFA. She directed her first feature film, "English Vinglish," which premiered at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival.

Kalpna Singh-Chitnis earned early recognition as a director when her short film "Girl With an Accent" screened in several film festivals worldwide and won the Silver Award at SMTV in 2006. Her debut feature film "Goodbye My Friend" had its world premiere at the Silent River Film Festival in September, 2011.

Sanzhar Madiyev will be featured in the film Phantom Hunt, starring Armand Assante and Kristanna Loken. Sanzhar came from Kazakhstan to study at both the 4 Week Filmmaking and 8 Week Acting for Film workshops in Los Angeles. 

Marshall Lewy wrote and directed, California Solo, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the 2007 romantic comedy Blue State, starring Breckin Meyer and Anna Paquin. (http://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/new-york-film-academys-alumni-spotlight-marshall-lewy/)

Using his 500 hours of footage from Tahir Square, Muhammad Hamdy worked with director, Jehane Noujaim, to create The Square. The documentary was awarded the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.

Michael Gallagher directed the horror film, Smiley, which was released in theaters nationwide. Michael also created the incredibly popular comedy YouTube channel called Totally Sketch which has close to one million subscribers.

Vibish Sivakumar plays the role of 18 year old Ravi Patel in Oscar winning director Ang Lee's, Life of Pi. Vibish landed the role after a nationwide casting search from thousands of candidates in India.

Since his graduation in 2010, Alexis Morante has worked on a dozen music videos, racking up over 10 million views on Youtube. His most recent video, Licenciado Cantinas, is a 25-minute film with Spanish rock star Enrique Bunbury. It played in movie theaters and on television in 10 countries, and was nominated for Best Music Video – Long Format by the Latin Grammy Awards.

Donnalee Roberts is a regular on the popular South African soap, 7de Laan, where she plays the vibrant young waitress, Annelie. In addition to her work on the popular television show, Donnalee stars in the feature film, Klein Karoo. Donnalee will be playing the lead in a new romantic comedy, Pad na jou HART, which she co-wrote and is co-producing.