NYFA
Faculty Directory

Faculty Directory

Samantha Soule

Samantha Soule is a filmmaker and actress. She directed Midday Black Midnight Blue, Birdwatching starring Amanda Seyfried, Taffeta, Shed, and Telling Time. As an actress, she can currently be seen in Outer Banks, Godless, Tales Of The City, Queen’s Gambit, and Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman on Netflix and City On A Hill for Showtime. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

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.

Liz Stanton Acting for Film Instructor

Liz Stanton teaches Acting (Meisner), Voice & Movement, and Improvisation at the New York Film Academy. As an actor, singer, sound designer, composer, director, and teacher, she is a multifaceted theatre artist. She is the Theatrical Development Producer for Convergences Theatre Collective. She has performed in numerous professional productions in New York City, regionally and internationally (England and India). Her opera, based on The Bacchae, was featured as a work in development at the EstroGenius Festival. She has created award-winning devised theatre pieces, composes music for theatrical sound designs, and teaches physically embodied acting and voice. Liz received her MFA in Theatre: Contemporary Performance from Naropa University. One of her most recent projects is The Woman Who Was Me – a play for one woman. The show was nominated for five Innovative Theatre Awards, including for Outstanding Solo Performer.

Micah Stathis Acting for Film Instructor

Stathis was a Production Manager for Manhattan Neighborhood Network for over four years. He quickly expanded his skills as a freelance Cinematographer and Director. He has experience directing a wide variety of television and film shoots, commercials, music videos, narrative films, documentary films, and live events.

Andrea Swift Chair of Filmmaking

Throughout her experience, A cinematic storyteller with more than 20 years experience, Swift has served as executive producer and director of PBS’ Emmy-nominated documentary magazine series, In the Life. Her films have also been screened at the United Nations Earth Summit and at festivals worldwide, including Raindance Film Festival (Best of Festival Selection), Sundance’s Environmental Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival (Best Short Film, Panorama.) She has created content for AMC, History, WE, the NY Knicks, Madison Square Garden, and Clearview Cinemas; and has written for and directed top talent, including Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, Oscar nominees Laura Linney, Patricia Clarkson, and Lesley Gore, and Tony Award winners Alan Cumming, Harvey Fierstein, Denis O’Hare and Cherry Jones. Currently, Swift focuses on writing, story producing, and creative producing on a variety of documentary projects, including “The Crossing Borders Project,” a featured program of National Geographic’s education wing. MFA, Columbia University.

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.

Hernán Toro

Hernán Toro (Director of Photography) was born and raised in the colorful city of Caracas, Venezuela; there he studied advertising before leaving home for England, where he attended The London Film School. Once back in Caracas, he rapidly became one of most sought after and recognized cinematographers in Venezuela, then South America and eventually moved to New York City where he resides since 1995.

Toro has shot over 20 feature films most notably “First We Take Brooklyn,” “3 Noches,” “Mob Town,” “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.” Recently “Spiked,” “Blackjack: The Story of Jackie Ryan,” “Hamlet/Horatio,” “I Love Us,” and nearly 900 TV commercials, several music videos, shorts, and documentaries. In between films he dedicates his time to teach Cinematography to newer generations of filmmakers at the New York Film Academy.

Hernán continues to apply his eye, knowledge, and passion to his cinematography. He is also an accomplished still photographer, with his work shown as part of a dozen photographic exhibitions, photos published in magazines, catalogs, and three architectural books. (by Gregg Brilliant)

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.

David Vando

Mr. Vando’s works include the award winning THE KING’S CLOWN performed both in America and England, the book and lyrics for a musical adaptation LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST for the Folger Library Theatre, an English adaptation of THE THREEPENNY OPERA, BUGLES AT DAWN a musical based on THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, SONG OF THE LARK, a musical passion play of Saint Joan, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LEONARDO DA VINCI, EROICA, about the deafness and death of Beethoven and SHAKESPEARE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, now in its third printing, which teaches you how to “translate” and use quotes from the Bard in the new millennium for everything from corporate mottos to epitaphs with over 700 outrageous examples. His latest work is the film HAMLET/HORATIO, the story of Hamlet told through eyes of Horatio, in which he wrote the screen play and acts two roles.

Amy Van Horne Acting for Film Creative Director

Creative Director of the Acting for Film Department in New York

Amy Van Horne is an actor, teacher, and professional on-camera audition coach. She holds an MFA from Rutgers University-Mason Gross School of the Arts where she studied under the tutelage of Master Teachers William Esper and Maggie Flanigan. Amy has been a professional film and television actress for over 20 years, working in both LA and New York. Having firsthand knowledge of the many technical challenges actors face working in front of the camera on professional film/TV sets, Amy developed and led on-camera acting technique, scene study, and audition technique classes that she taught for over 10 years in LA. Teaching actors to find freedom on camera became Amy’s passion, and she returned to New York in 2013 to train as a master teacher under her mentor Maggie Flanigan. Selected film/TV credits include: Cost of Living, The City, The Big Easy, Hitz, Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, Push, Veronica’s Closet, Family Rules, The Beach Boys: An American Family, Judging Amy, Strong Medicine, Cold Case, and Final Sale. She has also appeared in dozens of national network commercials. Amy joined the New York Film Academy in 2017.

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.

Victor Verhaeghe Acting for Film Instructor

Victor is currently workshopping a musical he wrote: Doormen, The musical, with Royal Family Theater. COP-DOC, a short film/web series that he wrote, produced and starred in, has picked up several awards in festivals this year, with more on the way. Currently in development with a production company. As an actor, Victor continued his work on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” as Antonio, the doorman, which is ironic since he is writing a musical about doormen. He shot the feature film, Bad Education, with Hugh Jackman, Alison Janey and Ray Romano, that is now running on HBO.

Other recent work: Feature Film, Peel with Emile Hirsch and Amy Brenneman, guest starring role on The Americans, and the lead in another feature, Bride in the Box. Victor is also producing a series of videos called, What if… based on the idea of what if we tried love instead of guns, love instead of hate. He has already produced and shot four of these videos and continues writing and raising funds for more in the series.
He also has another short film that he wrote and starred in, doing well on the festival circuit called, The Parker.

Myrta Vida

Myrta Vida (Meer-Tah Vee-Dah) earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri –St. Louis (UMSL), & is a Third World Newsreel Fellow (TWN, 2022). Born & raised in Puerto Rico, Ms. Vida’s also a decorated U.S. Army Veteran.

She’s a Producer for 3DMC, the Production Company for the award-winning Independent Films: ‘tangerine’, ‘The Florida Project’, ‘The Infiltrators’, & ‘Premature’.

Ms. Vida’s Feature Screenplay, ‘What The Boy Couldn’t Say’, placed TOP 10% at the 2021 ACADEMY NICHOLL Fellowship Screenplay Competition.

Her Short Documentary ‘Second Responders’ was an OFFICIAL NOMINEE at both the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase (2021) & HBO’s Official Latino Film Festival (2021), & a Dr. Abigail Disney’s Fork Films GRANT WINNER (2021).

Ms. Vida’s Short Thriller ‘Endlich’, was a WINNER at Out of The Can International Film Festival -UK (2021), a NOMINEE at the Seattle Film Festival (2021), & a SEMI-FINALIST at the Austin Arthouse Film Festival (2021).

Since 2010, she’s been a Story Consultant & Script Doctor for Independent Filmmakers all over the world, & has led Writing & Production workshops in English & Spanish for disenfranchised communities. Ms. Vida currently serves as Faculty at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) & is a Board Member for its Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council (DEI).

Evgenia Vlasova

Evgenia Vlasova is an instructor in Broadcast Journalism, Personal Journalism and Digital Editing. In addition, in 2020 she co-taught a three-week online Journalism Summer School for 22 early career Russian journalists, and a week-long in-person media training workshop for 20 accomplished TV professionals in Kazakhstan. (Both projects were funded by the U.S. State Department.) She co-produced and edited Shanghai 1937: Where World War II Began, a feature documentary which was broadcast by 200+ U.S. Public TV stations, as well as internationally. Prior to moving to New York, for seven years she co-anchored and co-produced an award winning morning show on Channel 6TV in Khabarovsk, Russia. She began her professional career with Radio Europa Plus.

Bill Waldinger

In addition to his faculty position at NYFA, Bill is also on the faculty at The Joffrey Ballet School, Broadway Dance Center, Molloy College’s CAP 21 Musical Theater Program and the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Certified by Luigi to teach the Luigi Jazz Technique, Bill has recently been filmed and interviewed for the recently released feature film Uprooted which chronicles the history of Jazz Dance. He has coordinated workshops bringing together the techniques of Luigi and Matt Mattox with classic musical theater choreography. Bill also frequently travels the world As a Master Teacher. He has also developed absolute beginner “Dance Classes For Singers” at The Singers’ Forum. As a performer, Bill has appeared in musical theater, concert dance, commercials, music videos, television and industrials. Highlights include regional and Off-Broadway productions of A Chorus Line (Paul in the first regional production), Carousel (Carnival Boy), Kismet, Drood, Oklahoma! (Dream Curly), A Funny Thing…, Guys and Dolls and Godspell. He was a company member of The David Storey Dance Works and Labyrinth Dance Theater. He has danced in commercials, music videos, was a featured dancer on the television show Soul Alive and appeared in videos for the Theater Dance Workshop.

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