NYFA
Faculty Directory

Faculty Directory

Graham Tallman

Graham is a writer/director whose films have been to over 100 festivals and have won numerous awards. As a writer, he has
a script on the Black List, he has adapted a comic book for 20th Century Fox, and collaborated with production companies
such as Point Grey (Seth Rogen), Dark Castle (Joel Silver), Vertigo Entertainment (It, The Lego Movie), and Ryan Murphy
(American Horror Story). He wrote and directed the feature film Creeper, and was the second unit director and producer for the film The Nevsky Prospect for Amazon Studios. He most recently sold and will executive produce a biopic for
George A Romero, and sold an animated pilot called Apocalypse Hotel.

Stephen Tapert

Stephen Tapert earned his M.A. from The University of Chicago and his B.A. from The Evergreen State College. He worked for eight years at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where, as a museum researcher, he provided foundational work for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. He subsequently curated an exhibition on the Best Actress Oscar winners at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin, Italy, and at the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin, Germany. His illustrated coffee table book, “Best Actress: The History of Oscar-Winning Women” was published in 2020 by Rutgers University Press. Featuring a foreword by feminist critic Roxane Gay and endorsements from Andie MacDowell, Liza Minnelli, Susan Sarandon, and Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera, the book offers a historical, social, and political examination of the first 75 women – from Janet Gaynor to Emma Stone – to have won the Best Actress Oscar over the span of 90 years.

Clay Tarver

Clay Tarver has been a working screenwriter for over 20 years. Clay served as Executive Producer of HBO’s, Silicon Valley, where he received the 2016 Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing – Episodic Comedy. His feature credits include Joyride, which he wrote with JJ Abrams. He also worked as a writer on such films as Charlie’s Angels, Idiocracy, Walking Tall, and many others. In addition, Clay has written pieces for the New York Times Sunday Magazine, most notably Everman’s War: The Rock Casualty Who Became a War Hero. Clay took the helm as Director, making the feature film Vacation Friends which debuted on Hulu in 2021.

Robert Taylor

After graduating from the American Film Institute with a Master’s in Screenwriting, Robert Solana Taylor got his start on the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie.” He wrote and produced the first eight seasons of the Netflix/DreamWorks series “Spirit Riding Free.” He has developed with Dan Lin (Head of Film at Netflix, the “It” movies), Kiri Hart (the “Star Wars” franchise, “The Creator”), Glen Mazzara (showrunner of “The Walking Dead”) and Peter Dinklage’s Estuary Films. He also works extensively with the Young Storytellers nonprofit and thinks you should too!

Jonathan Thomas

Jonathan Thomas is a two-time graduate of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program (Studio + Critical Studies) and has an MA in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society from the University of Minnesota. He is the editor and designer of CALIGARI (caligaripress.com), a multimedia periodical of cinema, arts, and letters, and co-founded and was Editor in Chief The Third Rail, an international arts and cinema periodical archived by the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, LACMA, Walker Art Center, and the Getty Research Institute. Here at NYFA he teaches courses on the history of cinema, the history of cinematography, screenplay analysis, and special topics seminars including Cinema Now and The Social Thriller.

Cle Thompson Acting Instructor

BA in English, Beloit College. Extensive acting experience in off-Broadway productions, national tours, and feature films including A 2nd Before Hell Freezes Over, VS, Funny Valentines and Beyond the Blue. She has worked with legendary film composer/arranger Elmer Bernstein, sung in clubs from New York to Los Angeles.

Edward Timpe Co-Chair of Film Arts Department

Edward Timpe is a highly experienced film and TV producer with nearly 20 years of experience in the industry. After earning a BS in Kinesiology from Indiana University, he went on to pursue a master’s degree in Film Production from Chapman University. He has taught at NYFA – Los Angeles since 2010.

Currently, he is focused on developing new content that pushes the boundaries of storytelling and engages audiences in new and exciting ways. With a passion for innovation and a deep understanding of the industry, Edward is committed to creating content that resonates with viewers and leaves a lasting impact.

John Tona

John Tona is a photographer and artist based in New York City. He uses photographic portraiture to investigate human nature and consciousness. His work employs strategies ranging from social-documentary, tableau, and reinterpretations of the portrait.

His most recent and ongoing project, (A)typical Typology, depicts pairs of people from each country of the world without cultural elements such as clothing, makeup, or other man-made products, leaving only the individual as the unique identifier. As a result, the lines of race and culture are de-emphasized, leaving us to consider the subjects more simply, as members of the human race.

In addition to publications in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, his work has been exhibited at Art Space Artion, The Canson Gallery, and the Jeonju International Photo Festival in Seoul, South Korea as well as Art Basel in Miami Florida and Photoville in Brooklyn New York.

John is a graduate of the one-year photography conservatory at the New York Film Academy.

Igor Torgeson

MFA Film, Boston University; BA Journalism, George Washington University. Freelance editor and actor in Los Angeles. Has edited for clients including the Gameshow Network, National Lampoon, McGraw-Hill Publications, Southern California Gas Company, and Cessna Aircraft. Commercial credits include campaigns for Citibank and Brighthouse Networks.

Hernán Toro

A visionary Director of Photography with over three decades of experience crafting powerful, emotionally resonant visuals for film, television, and commercial productions. Born in the colorful city of Caracas, trained in London, and based in New York since 1995, Hernán Toro’s work bridges the cinematic traditions of Latin America, Europe, and Hollywood.

With over 20 feature films, 850+ commercials, and numerous award- winning feature films, shorts, documentaries, and music videos to his credit, Toro brings precision, passion, and a painter’s eye to every frame. His unique voice as a visual artist has been recognized internationally, from the streets of Caracas to the screens of Cannes. In addition to his film work, Hernán is an accomplished still photographer and mentor, committed to educating the next generation of cinematographers at the New York Film Academy. He is currently serving as President of the Society of Venezuelan Cinematography (SVC).

By Gregg Brilliant

Matthew Toronto Acting for Film Instructor

MATTHEW TORONTO – After a two-year stint on Netflix, Matt’s coming-of-age feature, FACE 2 FACE, which he wrote and directed, continues to inspire audiences on Paramount +, Epix and several other platforms. Besides an array of award-winning features, shorts, pilots and web series, Matt recently directed two features to be released by Artist View Entertainment in 2023 and is scheduled to direct two more this year. Matt earned his MFA in directing from Penn State University where he later joined the faculty and taught acting, directing and musical theatre for eight years. On stage, Matt directed the world premiere of the widely renowned musical ORDINARY DAYS as well as a long list of plays and musicals in New York City, Los Angeles and across the country. He began his professional career as an actor, performing in national tours, Off-Broadway and in celebrated regional theatres. He also spent five seasons in the RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR dancing alongside the Rockettes! A father of three, Matt loves to tell stories that reveal humanity in unexpected ways.

Maxine Trump

Maxine Trump has directed both short and long-form documentaries for TV networks including TNT, Sundance Channel, BBC and Discovery. She worked for the BBC in London for seven years as a development executive for scripted comedy before emigrating to the U.S., working as a TV commercial director and producer for eight years. She won BDA awards for her work on numerous commercial and branded entertainment projects for clients such as AMC, National Geographic, PBS, BBC America, Animal Planet, Comedy Central, American Cancer Society, L’Oreal and Oreos. Trump is on the selection committee for DOC NYC and Nantucket Film Festival; a Manhattan chapter leader of the non-profit film group Filmshop; and the author of the documentary guide “A Documentary Roadmap” (Focal Press 2017). Her film “Musicwood” was a New York Times Critics’ Pick, and “To Kid Or Not To Kid” is due for release in 2018. She lives in Brooklyn and continues to direct her own feature documentaries as well as producing and editing for feature documentary clients. MFA, London Metropolitan University.

Charley Tucker Acting for Film Instructor

As a teaching artist, Mr. Tucker has worked at New York University (co-teacher with Phylicia Rashad), American Globe Theatre (Shakespeare First Folio Technique), University of Texas/ Austin, Muhlenberg College, Penn State University and New York Film Academy where he is currently teaching Scene Study and the Meisner Technique.
HEDDA GABBLER (American Globe), UNCLE TOM’S CABIN (The Drama Dept.- Workshop Co.), MISALLIANCE (Pennsylvania Center Stage), DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS (American Stage), SIX DEGREES OF SEPERATION (Florida Studio Theatre), and AMERICAN BUFFALO (Asolo Conservatory Theatre- guest artist). Film and T.V.: CURDLED (Miramax), AMY SCHUMMER SHOW (Comedy Central), TENNESSEE (Lee Daniels Entertainment), and several television and radio commercials. Currently Mr. Tucker has 2 films in production.

Greg Uliasz

Greg is an Equity Partner at McDonald Selznick Associates, a talent agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles. MSA represents a diverse roster of high caliber creative talent, working across the entertainment industry. Greg primarily works to help place clients on Broadway, though he has vast experience in all areas of commercial theatre, live entertainment, and New York City-based projects.

Greg is also a freelance arts educator for a variety of industry training programs. Currently, he is an adjunct professor at the New York Film Academy, in the BFA Musical Theatre program, and at Pace University, in the BFA Commercial Dance Program.

Previously, Greg worked numerous productions as the Associate Director to Tony Nominee Patricia Birch. Greg also worked as a NYC Casting Director. Notably, he cast the Drama Desk Nominated Best Musical THE LIGHTNING THIEF and served on the board of CSA as an associate member.

Greg holds a master’s degree in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University. He graduated as the class Valedictorian and earned the program’s Advanced Achievement Award in a course of study that included executive leadership, negotiation and deal making, entertainment business finance, media publishing and distribution, and advanced entertainment law. His undergraduate degree is from the prestigious Theatre Arts Program at Marymount Manhattan College.

Vladimir Velev

Vladimir Velev grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria admiring American movies and television from afar. He has studied Latin American and Ballroom dancing from the age of six and trained with the top teachers in the competitive dance world as well as in other styles of dance. Vladimir is a former Austrian national champion and quarterfinalist of both the World and European Professional Latin Championships. Since moving to the United States, he has established himself as a sought-after instructor, performer, and competitor. He joined the Musical Theater department of the New York Film Academy in 2016.

José Venutolo Camp Director

José Alberto Venutolo Chirinos is a Venezuelan Filmmaker based in New York City since 2010, he works as a Director, Producer, Editor, DIT, Videographer, and Educator. Born and raised in Venezuela he found his way to New York in 2008 and pursued studies in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy from 2008 to 2010, he’s fluent in Spanish and English, and conversational Italian.

From 2010 to present he walked the path of freelance filmmaking as a Director, Producer, and Editor. Has worked in TV, advertisement, PSA, and independent productions and art installations, while walking a path at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) that evolved from TA, to instructor, to Youth Programs Director. He is currently the Director of the Teens’ Summer
Camps at NYFA’s New York City campus.

José has a passion for teaching and wishes to never be fully removed from the classroom, he loves incorporating his own perceptions and experiences to his teaching, and also that of an immigrant professional finding a foothold in the US media production and education businesses. He keeps connected to his freelance work which in his 15 years’ career has taken him to an eclectic range of work, from video production for both narrative and commercial products, including short and feature films, advertisement, institutional videos, PSAs, documentaries, and music videos, frequently wearing many hats on a production.

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