It’s the start of a new year, and graduates of the New York Film Academy (NYFA) Broadcast Journalism school are right in the middle of many of the exciting things that are taking place.
NYFA alum George Colli — now with WTNH in New Haven, Connecticut — was back in Washington, DC to document history in the making, speaking with Representative-elect Jahana Hayes the day before she was sworn into office. Rep. Hayes is the first African American woman and first African American Democrat to represent Connecticut in Congress.
NYFA Broadcast Journalism Alum George Colli Interviewing Rep. Jahana Hayes
Broadcast Journalism grad Suzane de Oliveira, whoworks for Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Rio de Janeiro, put together a wonderful story about New Year fireworks over the legendary Copacabana Beach. (You can’t get more visual than fireworks!) Her story was likely distributed globally, as AFP serves news organizations around the world.
The end of the year is also a time when production teams take group pictures. Gabriela Matte is a graduate of one of our short-term Broadcast Journalism workshop. She works for media giant Globo, on the first 24-hour news cable channel in Brazil. It’s called, not surprisingly, GloboNews. I often say that TV news is a “team sport,” and Gabriela wrote: “Yes, teamwork with a lot of passion.”
Here’s what she wrote when she first started at GloboNews. “One of the reasons I got the job was my experience abroad, and NYFA is part of it.”
Delphine Dormancy attended the 1-year Broadcast Journalism program. Right now, I think she is working in Beruit, Lebanon. But here in New York she produced a lovely story for the digital outlet Labneh&Facts. “What do Hummus, refugees, New York City and a pair of Lebanese siblings have in common? Well, a passion for good, home-made food and doing good, of course!”
BTW, how many of you reading this have eaten lebneh? Trust me, it’s wonderful. What regular yogurt yearns to become…
Finally, short-term Broadcast Journalism workshop graduate Alexandra Salandy is working in the news department of FOX5 New York. She tells us, “I am a production assistant here. I help cut the teases and VOs and I also help the assignment desk, and assign reporters to editors.”
On Friday, December 14, New York Film Academy (NYFA) hosted a screening of A Country Christmas Story (2013) followed by a Q&A with director and NYFA instructor Eric Bross, and writer and NYFA instructor Steven Peros, moderated by NYFA student, Bakyt Zhumadilova.
Bross is known for directing Affairs of State (2018), Traffic (2004) and Stranger Than Fiction (2000) and Peros is known for writing Footprints (2009), The Undying (2009) and The Cat’s Meow (2001).
Zhumadilova opened the Q&A by asking Peros about his inspiration for the screenplay. Peros said he started by researching the history of country music and its prevalence in the South, then adding layers of complexity to the story by making the protagonist both a child of divorce and biracial within that world.
Peros also wanted the film to be about the various characters’ relationships with music and the arts and added that the music teacher in the film was inspired by a teacher he had when he was a kid.
Zhumadilova inquired about what it was like for Peros to writeA Country Christmas Story star Dolly Parton’s lines knowing she was going to be playing herself in the film. “The funny thing about writing her was, I had written this thing… and suddenly I’m on set going, ‘I’m about to meet Dolly Parton!’ Is she gonna come up to me and say, ‘Well, first off, Steven, I don’t talk like that at all,’” joked Peros. “But she didn’t at all! She didn’t want to change anything… so I was somehow channeling my inner Dolly Parton.”
“I just thought he really captured her voice,” added Bross.
Peros shared that Parton suggested that she sing instead of just introducing the music contest at the end of the film. “She just kept giving us gifts.” said Bross.
Peros shared that one of the most notable moments of the shoot was when Parton sang in between takes to entertain extras in the audience. “She knew that all those extras who were there pretty much for free… were there for her,” he said. “She never left the stage… she sang ‘Tennessee Waltz’… and it was like a moment out of a movie; one by one, everything started to get silent.”
The discussion then moved onto producing a film like A Country Christmas Story on a tight shoot schedule and a tight budget. Bross advised filmmakers to keep the frame focused on the actors as much as possible when working with a small budget because sometimes it’s difficult to afford full, dressed sets. This way the story would still be the center of the film.
New York Film Academy would like to thank A Country Christmas Story filmmakers Eric Bross and Steven Peros for sharing their entertaining anecdotes from the shooting of the film, as well as their production advice for students.
New York Film Academy (NYFA) Photography Alum Alejandra Arias has published a book of photography entitled Lucy’s Mind. The introduction was penned by famed photographer Duane Michals, who met and connected with Arias while speaking as a guest lecturer at New York Film Academy’s New York City campus in 2017.The stunning photos of Lucy’s Mind feature the character Lucy, alone in her apartment, dealing with various internal states of sadness, boredom, and anger. The photos are accompanied by dialogue between Lucy and a character named Henry.
Many of the photo names involve Lucy herself—“Lucy’s Blue Glasses,” “Lucy’s Hypothesis,” and “Lucy on Growing Up” for example. Others have titles like “An Awake One,” “We’re All Waiters,” and “What You Call Karma.”
Arias originally hails from Mexico City, Mexico, and attended the 1-year Photography Workshop in Spring 2016. She first met and got to know Michals after he spoke to NYFA Photography students at a special guest lecture.
Michals is an American photographer known for his sequential images, which often deal with mysteries and myths as well as for his creative extension of the possibilities within the medium of photography. While working as a freelance commercial photographer, Michals managed to also retain his own highly personal vision through his art.
The noncommercial photographs of Michals have been widely exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe. He has published a number of books of his work, including Sequences (1970), Homage to Cavafy: Ten Poems by Constantine Cavafy/Ten Photographs by Duane Michals (1978), and Eros & Thanatos (1992).
New York Film Academy congratulates NYFA photography alum Alejandra Arias on Lucy’s Mind and is delighted to have helped facilitate a relationship between her and famed photographer Duane Michals.
As we settle into 2019, we take a look back at New York Film Academy’s 2018 and the achievements and moments that made it another phenomenal year. Here are New York Film Academy (NYFA) 2018 highlights:
A select group of New York Film Academy (NYFA) Documentary and Filmmaking students were invited to attend The Price of Free, a feature-length documentary which screened on November 10, 2018 at the Studio City Film Festival. The film depicts Kailash Satyarthi, who left a career as an electrical engineer to start Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement) in an effort to rescue children from slavery.
Along with Sanora Bartels, Chair of Documentary NYFA-LA, the selected NYFA students in attendance were from both BFA and MFA programs and included, from Documentary: Lucia Florez, Assemgul Sarsembayeva and Khalila Suprapto; and from Filmmaking: Jose Miguel Perez, Jenny Mochahari, Katherine Russell, and Aastha Verma.
All of the students felt it was an important event and looked forward to attending. Before the screening, Katherine Russell, Spring 2018 BFA Filmmaking student, told NYFA:
“I’ve always considered myself very socially conscious. I began my first undergraduate career as a political science and sociology double major at Penn State. Throughout my filmmaking career at NYFA and beyond I plan to inject these passions and what I’ve learned into my films. This film piques my interest for these exact reasons.”
The film did not disappoint; Derek Doneen’s direction is deeply moving. The story opens in a raid on a factory to save several children from slave labor. The camera work and action immediately pulls the audience into the center of the conflict.
The audience is then taken back to the beginning of Satyarthi’s work, and the history of the struggle is conveyed through masterful animation and several interviews with key supporters of the cause. Some of the most compelling footage is “observational” — using hidden cameras — of the charity workers as they go undercover as “buyers of goods” in an attempt to expose the locations of illegal factories and their captive labor.
The work is not for the faint of heart. Throughout, the worthiness of the project is expressed in the experiences of the children who are freed from shackles and able to pursue education.
The screening was followed by a Q&A session with The Price of Free director, Derek Doneen, and its featured subject, Nobel Prize winner Kailash. Satyarthi was asked how he had the courage to begin and continue the work to free children from slavery, considering the dangers involved. In addition to the very real threat of reprisal from the criminals running the factories, there are police officers who are bribed and, at best, look the other way, and, at worst, savagely beat those who attempt to break the children free.
Satyarthi replied to the question with a smile and shared a lovely Indian folktale:
“One day a terrible fire broke out in the jungle – a huge section was suddenly engulfed by a raging wild fire. Frightened, all the animals fled their homes and ran out of the jungle. As they came to the edge of a stream, they stopped to watch the fire and were feeling very discouraged and powerless.
“They all bemoaned the destruction of their homes, except the hummingbird. The hummingbird swooped into the stream and picked up a few drops of water in its beak and flew into the jungle to put them on the fire. Then it went back to the stream and did it again, and it kept going back, again and again and again. Finally, the tiger grew concerned for the hummingbird’s safety: ‘It is too much, you are too little, your wings will burn, your beak is tiny, it’s only a drop, you can’t put out this fire. What do you think you’re doing!?’
“The hummingbird, without wasting time or losing a beat, looked back and said, ‘I am doing what I can.'”
After the screening, the students enthusiastically shared their experience and thoughts about moving forward:
“After watching The Price of Free you will never be the same. You will carefully read the labels in supermarkets. You will evaluate your every purchase and think whether [you] really need another decorative box or a candle. Consumerism at its highest degree of barbarism is the focus of Derek Doneen’s film… Kailash Satyarthi has a mission: the battle for the right of every kid on this planet to have a childhood.”
—Asem Nurlanova, Fall 2017 MFA Documentary
“From the opening of the documentary to the last frame, there was not a minute where I felt unmoved or a disconnect by the reality of the harsh hitting stories. The director, Derek Doneen, did an exceptional job bringing the reality to life. As the credits rolled, I saw people right, left, and center tearing up, almost sobbing.
“Not a lot of people have the power to move the world forward with them, he surely is one of them. It was an honor and an inspiration to be in the same room and having a moving conversation with the humble man himself, Mr. Satyarthi. I highly recommend for everybody to watch The Price of Free and would like to thank Crickett Rumley and NYFA-LA for the opportunity.”
Just as 2018 was wrapping up, Netflix managed to squeeze one more buzzworthy hit movie into the zeitgeist with Bird Box, a post-apocalyptic thriller starring Sandra Bullock and featuring a haunting, memorable scene with New York Film Academy (NYFA) Acting for Film instructor, Happy Anderson.
Bird Box was an instant hit, dominating social media with both high praise and viral memes. According to Netflix, it was the media company’s biggest opening to date, having been streamed by over 45 million accounts in its first week alone.
The film, directed by Susanne Bier and written by Eric Heisserer based on the novel of the same name by Josh Malerman, is a story about survivors who must keep themselves blindfolded to stay alive from mysterious creatures who drive people insane once they look at them.
Some of the infected victims are compelled to force survivors to open their eyes and look at the creatures. As Sandra Bullock’s protagonist rows down a river blindfolded while protecting two children, a mysterious River Man comes out of the fog and attacks them. The scene is moody and tense before coming to a violent, thrilling, and frightful conclusion. The River Man is played by actor and NYFA instructor Happy Anderson.
Anderson had a blast shooting the scene, posting photos to his social media of the complicated rig needed to shoot in waist-deep water. “Bird Box time was a very fun time!” he wrote, included with a production still.
Bird Box is the latest in a string of impressive credits for Anderson, including another Netflix original film, Bright, starring Will Smith, and Mindhunter, the drama series from David Fincher that was also produced and distributed by Netflix.
Other credits include Gotham, The Blacklist, The Tick, and The Knick, co-starring Clive Owen and NYFA alum Eve Hewson. Upcoming projects include the X-Men horror film The New Mutants and the highly-anticipated television adaptation of Snowpiercer.
Anderson teaches Acting for Film at NYFA’s New York campus, along with many other working professionals who teach at the acting school. The Academy prides itself on its faculty, who share with students their experience and expertise from working in a dynamic, competitive, labor-intensive industry.
The New York Film Academy congratulates Acting for Film instructor Happy Anderson on his latest role and encourages everyone who hasn’t to check out the mysterious and haunting thriller, Bird Box!
The Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at New York Film Academy (PCMT at NYFA) released a dance video titled Inhale/Exhale starring PCMT alum CorBen Williams and So You Think You Dance season 10 and Broadway Star winner Amy Yakima.
Created to inspire reflection as we enter into the new year, Inhale/Exhale is a reminder to appreciate where you’ve been and where you’re going. In today’s ever-frenetic world, it’s important to take in your surroundings and remind yourself to breathe and connect with those around you. You never know what new opportunity or inspiration is right around the corner.
Raised in North Pole, Alaska, CorBen Williams first attended NYFA’s Musical Theatre Camp for Teens in 2013. A year later he enrolled in the 2-year program at PCMT. After graduating from PCMT, CorBen immediately found work with Disney Cruise Lines and and recently played TJ in a regional production of Sister Act.
Amy Yakima is from Northville, Michigan and was crowned winner of So You Think You Can Dance’s tenth season. Yakima has starred on Broadway as Peter Pan in Finding Neverland, in addition to numerous other stellar performances.
Showcasing the talents of both performers, the story is one of art imitating life: a student and Broadway hopeful meets his idol, a veteran who’s already achieved stardom. After a chance encounter in downtown Manhattan, the two dance together in a stunning sequence — shot in Battery Park, across the street from NYFA’s New York campus.
The inspiring video was directed by Chair of Short-term Intensive Programs Jonathan Whittaker, edited by Sean Robinson, and produced by Kristy Cates, the PCMT’s Creative Director. Cates is a Broadway veteran as well, with credits including Wicked (Broadway, First National Tour, Chicago) as Elphaba, Miss Bassett in Finding Neverland (Broadway), and Grandma Josephine in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Broadway).
Interested in attending PCMT at NYFA? Find out more information about our programs here.
On December 20, New York Film Academy (NYFA) MFA student Shi Tanxuan showcased his short film, Lip Reader: Game of Detective at the 15th Guangzhou College Student Film Festival, one of China’s most prestigious student film festivals. It came away as one of the festival’s biggest winners.
Lip Reader: Game of Detective is a comedic detective story, written to be part of a cinematic, “special detective universe” — a rare and ambitious trait for a student film. Lip Reader tells the story of Lin, a college student with a severe hearing impairment, who has a fantastic talent for reading lips. Lin, who works as an “intelligence analyst” for a paparazzi company, must track down a missing $20 million diamond necklace two days before a popular Chinese actress is to wear it at the Academy Awards.
Lip Reader stood out from more than 500 short films at the 15th Guangzhou College Student Film Festival. The event is one of two college student film festivals approved by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Popular with students across the country and beyond, it plays an important role in promoting Chinese movies.
By the end of the festival, it had won the Gold Award in the “Original Motion Picture and Animation Film Competition (Drama) competition. Additionally, it picked up the “Huayi Brothers Media Group Star-making Entertainment Special Award” at the award ceremony.
Shi Tanxuan started the MFA in Filmmaking program at New York Film Academy in Summer 2017 at NYFA’s Los Angeles campus. In addition to writing and directing Lip Reader, he also put together a cast and crew of several other Chinese students and alumni from NYFA, including:
General Executive Producer Peipei Duan 2017 Fall MFA Producing
Second Unit Director Kaibo Xu 2017 Fall MFA Filmmaking
1st & 2nd Assistant Director Fei Chen Mengmeng 2018 Fall BFA Filmmaking
Post Supervisor Cherry Cao MFA Fall 2015 Filmmaking
Post Production Coordinator Zhenghao Yang 2016 Fall MFA Filmmaking
Cast: Klay Li 2016 Spring MFA Filmmaking
Demi Ke
2015 Spring MFA Acting for Film
Xinran Cao
2018 Summer MFA Acting
Yiwen Sun
BFA Fall 16 Acting 1C
Jiani Yang
BFA Acting 2017
The New York Film Academy congratulates the above students and alumni on their hard work and wishes Shi Tanxuan the best of luck as he expands the story and universe of Lip Reader: Game of Detective!
New York Film Academy (NYFA) alum António Botelho hails from Lisbon, Portugal and has acted, produced, written, shot, and crewed on several projects both in his home country and aboard.
Botelho attended NYFA’s 2-year Filmmaking program in 2008 at our New York City campus, where he gained invaluable experience directing and shooting his own films as well as serving as an integral crewmember on other students’ films.
His education and professional experience culminated this year in the release of Ruth, the Portuguese feature film directed by Botelho. Ruth is set in the early 1960s and tells the story of Eusébio, an immigrant from Mozambique and football (soccer) superstar who finds himself in a heated sports rivalry amidst political turmoil during the country’s fascist regime.
The New York Film Academy spoke with Botelho about his film and career earlier this year:
New York Film Academy (NYFA): Can you talk a bit about the process involved in getting Ruth subsidized by Portugal?
António Botelho (AB): In Portugal there are hardly any private companies (film or other) that finance their own movies. There isn’t a studio system. There are film companies who produce movies mostly by grants and state competitions with many categories (short films, first features, feature films, documentaries, documentaries short, animation, etc.).
It was through one of these state competitions that Ruth was subsidized. The film company in charge of the production had to present a budget and all sorts of documents boosting the film’s value and whatnot.
My part, in that competition entry, was to write a director’s view kind of document, with my own personal approach on how the movie would be made. It’s a matter of luck. It’s one in a billion.
NYFA: How do you approach the filmmaking process?
AB: I’m a very practical filmmaker. I consider myself a film buff first, then a filmmaker. Great movies are made every year, some of them share the same story, and so I know the movie that I’m making is probably not going to be a Citizen Kane… movies shouldn’t impose on themselves or their filmmakers.
I try to make a movie that makes sense. I put the script and the actors first, then I adapt to several circumstances… as all filmmakers do.
As [NYFA’s founder] Jerry Sherlock put it: “Story, story, story.”
NYFA: How did NYFA help prepare you to be on set for your feature film debut?
AB: NYFA helped me prepare in a sense that it taught me to having the most done — as a director — before entering the set. I prepare myself so that each day I know what I’m shooting, but also how it’s going to cut together. Having a big sense in all film areas, provided by the faculty, helps the filmmaking process and teaches you to respect your fellow colleagues. Filmmaking isn’t a solo thing.
Also, it taught me to act quickly in the face of adversity, because most times you’ll have to adapt.
NYFA: Will Ruth be available online or in other countries?
AB: Eventually it will be online in some of the screening platforms. What I can say for now is that there’s a possibility of it premiering in France in January 2019, and maybe also Germany.
The New York Film Academy thanks António Botelho for his time and thoughtful responses and wishes him the best of luck in his promising career!
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