NYFA
Faculty Directory

Faculty Directory

Robert Pietri

BFA, Carnegie Mellon University; MFA, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Dean’s Fellow. Robert has worked in several mediums and genres, from live-action narrative to animation and documentary. His films have been in competition at festivals around the world, including AFI/DOCs, Animafest Zagreb, Annecy, BFI London Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Festival. Pietri served in the United States Marines Corps and worked for years as an art director before committing himself to filmmaking. His first feature, Semper Fidel, was shot in Havana, Cuba. Robert continues to work and develop projects internationally.

Huch Platt

Avid Pro Tools HD Certified Instructor, Owner Majestic Sound Studios, Foley Mixer, Dialog Editor Flags for Our Fathers, Dialog Editor Black Dawn and Stranger by Me. Huch has dedicated his life to teaching the art and craft of Film Sound and helping new filmmakers achieve amazing Sound Design.

Jenni Powell

Jenni Powell is the Emmy Award-winning producer of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Welcome to Sanditon, lonelygirl15, Emma Approved, and The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy. For two years she was Director of Content and Social Media for VidCon and was a producer at Felicia Day’s YouTube Premium Channel Geek & Sundry, where she produced the Geekie Award-Winning Talkin’ Comics Weekly. She was Head of Production for NewMediaRockstars (rebranded to NewRockstars after her tenure) and is now tapping into her deep love of role-playing games, which she has been playing for over 20 years, by creating strategies for translating them from the game table to a consumable and entertaining visual medium. She is also a Faculty member of the New York Film Academy where she teaches Story Generation, New Media, and Transmedia (tabletop games, role-playing games, web series, and more).

Claudia Raschke, ASC

Cinematographer Claudia Raschke was born in one of the largest European ports near the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany. Throughout her childhood the chain of movie theaters owned by her mother brought Claudia into the world of film. After college Claudia’s studied of the art and technique of cinematography on the practical level while working with some of the most prominent and accomplished international filmmakers. She is a founding member of the NYC Kamera Kollektiv, a boutique agency for documentary cinematographers and a member of AMPAS.

Among her many notable award winning films are: Oscar-nominated and Emmy winning RBG (Magnolia/ Participant/ CNN Films), Oscar-nominated GOD IS THE BIGGER ELVIS (HBO), Oscar short-listed JULIA (CNN Films/ Imagine Entertainment/ Sony Classic) and MAD HOT BALLROOM (Paramount), Oscar short-listed and Emmy winning BOYS STATE (A24), Peabody Award-winning MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY (Amazon Studios/Participant Media), Critics Award nominated FAUCI (NAT GEO/ Magnolia/ Disney+), PARTICLE FEVER (Bond 360), THE FREEDOM TO MARRY (Argot Pictures) Her latest documentary series work includes The House of Hammer (Discovery +), Eleanor and Franklin (CNN), Pharma (Showtime) to be released in 2023.

Eddie Rosenstein

Eddie Rosenstein has produced and/or directed ten award winning documentary films including THE FREEDOM TO MARRY, BOATLIFT, SCHOOL PLAY, WAGING A LIVING, A TICKLE IN THE HEART and SANDHOGS. He has also created non-fiction programming for television networks including PBS, A&E, TruTV, History, Discovery ID, HBO and AMC. He has won dozens of awards at film festivals including Berlin, Full Frame, San Francisco, Chicago and Savannah. A TICKLE IN THE HEART was shortlisted for an Academy Award and CALLED TO ACTION (AMC) was nominated for an EMMY. Eddie has produced and/or directed more than 150 commercials and corporate films, and served as an executive producer at several production companies, including at Eyepop Productions which he co-founded. Eddie has lectured at many universities and corporations and has been teaching documentary filmmaking at NYFA since 2008. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two sons.

Crickett Rumley Senior Director of Film Festivals

The founder and Senior Director of the New York Film Academy’s Film Festival Department, Crickett Rumley received her MFA in Film at Columbia University. She has guided filmmakers to official selections and awards at festivals ranging from Sundance to Bronzelens and to nomination and shortlisting for the Student Academy Awards, the BAFTA Student Film Awards, and the College Television Awards.

Crickett has moderated both live and virtual events for the school, including Q&A’s with NYFA alum Mohamed Diab (director of Marvel Studios/Disney+ series Moon Knight) and TV writers Boo Killebrew and Gail Lerner as well as panels with staff from festivals such as New Filmmakers LA, Hollyshorts, Austin, and Reel Sisters of the Diaspora. Most recently, she hosted the Winter Film Awards International Film Festival’s Education Day on the NYFA campus in New York, presenting workshops on “Social Media for Creatives” and “How to Craft the Low Budget Screen Story”.

A regular juror for the Forum on Life, Culture, and Society’s International Short Film Competition, Crickett also sat on the jury for the 2021 Tallgrass Film Festival, one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. She now serves as their Panels Director.

Michael Selditch

Michael Selditch is a veteran documentary filmmaker. In non-scripted television, he’s been a creator, showrunner, producer and director, earning him two Emmy nominations. His four-part series, “American Style” aired primetime on CNN. His documentary series, “Architecture School” for the Sundance Channel, won the IDA Award for Best Limited Series and was named in Time Magazine’s List Issue as one of the Top 10 Television Series of 2008. He was a director on the original “Queer Eye,” and showran a season of “Catfish: the TV Show.” Selditch has produced for many networks and streamers on a multitude of topics.

Selditch’s narrative film debut, “Fixing Frank” was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. His follow-up documentary, “Eleven Minutes,” played in theaters in eight cities. His new feature documentary, “Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field” is having its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, 2023. He’s in development on his fourth film with a script he penned called, “In Burton’s Shadow,” based on a true story with Jared Harris and Alan Cumming attached.

Before his work in film and television, Selditch was a licensed architect, practicing architecture for 14 years in New York and Los Angeles, and teaching at Pratt Institute and Woodbury University.

Philip Shane

Philip Shane is an award-winning documentary producer, director and editor with over 25 years of experience. His film “Being Elmo” won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance. In a decade at ABC News, Shane edited programs including Ted Kopple’s “Tip of the Spear” (DuPont Award) and “Martin Luther King” (Emmy, Outstanding Historical Program). His short film collaboration with Peter Jennings, “Witness to History,” has become a part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum. Philip edited “Dancing in Jaffa” (Tribeca; Best Editing at DocAviv); produced, directed and edited “Einstein” (History Channel); and edited many films about performing artists, including “Wingspan” (with Paul & McCartney and director Alistair Donald), “The Beatles Revolution” (ABC), “Carly Simon” (Lifetime), “Bruce Springsteen” (Disney) and “The Boston Symphony” (NHK).

Maria Stanisheva

Maria Stanisheva is a film director/producer and founder of ANIMADOCS (www.animadocs.com) . She focuses on social-issue documentaries, independent animation and experimenting with mixed genres. The animated-documentary FATHER which she produced in 2012 was screened at over 100 film festivals and awarded 28 times, including the Golden Dove for Animated Film at DOK Leipzig Festival. Her 2016 animated campaign “Together to End Male Guardianship” commissioned by Human Rights Watch Saudi Arabia, was seen by over 10 million people, brought factual legislative change to the country and got featured in the New York Times and Euronews. She is currently working on Finding Home – an animated documentary series and interactive art installation that tell the stories of climate refugees from around the world.

Maria has worked as an external expert for the Robert Bosch Foundation (Berlinale film festival), Documentary Campus Masterschool (CPH:DOX, Sheffield Doc Fest), NEW INC (NEW MUSEUM, NYC) and EURIMAGES. She gives regular master-classes in “Animation for Documentary Film“ at NYFA, Oxford Brookes and the Central European University (Vienna). In addition, she does Pitch trainings based on personal experience presenting projects at Berlinale, Stuttgart Film Fest, Clermont Ferrand, Hot Docs, Sunny Side of the Doc, IDFA etc.

Andrea Swift

A cinematic storyteller with more than 20 years experience, Swift has served as executive producer and director of PBS’ Emmy-nominated documentary series, In the Life. Her films have screened at the United Nations Earth Summit and festivals worldwide, including Berlin International Film Festival (Best Short Film), Raindance Film Festival (Best of Festival Selection), CIFF, and Chicago International Film Festival (Silver). She has created content for AMC, History, WE, the NY Knicks and Madison Square Garden; and has directed and written for top talent including Oscar winner Susan Saradon, nominees Laura Linney, Patricia Clarkson, and Lesley Gore, and Tony Award and Emmy Award winners including Alan Cumming, Ossie Davis, Harvey Fierstein, Cherry Jones, Denis O’Hare, and RuPaul. Currently, Swift focuses on writing, story producing, and creative consulting. MFA, Columbia University.

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.

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.

1 2