Page 129 – NYFA

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Sits Down with South Beach Director Maylen Dominguez to Discuss Women in Film

The New York Film Academy (NYFA) has announced that Maylen Dominguez is the new Campus Director of the South Beach location. Dominguez will also continue in her previous role as Chair of Filmmaking in South Beach.

Maylen has spent the last three years as Chair of Filmmaking, having helped the fledgling South Beach campus establish itself as a force in the South Florida film industry. NYFA South Beach was the only Florida institution featured in Variety’s Best Film Schools of 2018 list. Additionally, the South Beach location was one of only three Florida schools featured in Hollywood Reporter’s Top 25 American Film Schools.

NYFA South Beach Campus Director Maylen Dominguez

Recently, NYFA had the pleasure to sit down and chat with the new NYFA South Beach Campus Director about her career, her time at NYFA so far, and her plans for the future:

New York Film Academy (NYFA): What does it mean to you to be the new Director of NYFA South Beach?

Maylen Dominguez (MD): I have a very special connection to Miami, this is the place where my father landed when he was 12 years old and exiled from Cuba. It’s the place where my grandfather, in his mid 50s, re-studied for his medical license and became a doctor again. They ended up moving to Puerto Rico, which is where my father met my mother, and where I was born.

When I was two weeks old we moved back to Miami, and then my father, who was a doctor in the navy, moved all over the US. I moved to Miami three years ago to be the Chair of the Filmmaking Department, but have been blown away by the experience of living in a place that is so culturally diverse. I love that I get to speak Spanish again. I love that a cortadito (espresso shot) gets passed around periodically in the middle of the day at the office. And I love being back near palm trees and the warm ocean. So, it is an understatement to say how proud and grateful I am that I get to mix the three things I love: Miami, film, and education. The chance to inspire students from all over the world to tell their very unique and beautiful stories is a gift.

NYFA: Can you elaborate a bit on your background and experience in the film industry?

MD: I spent nearly ten years in LA hustling through all sorts of jobs in the film business. It was a real eye opener that no one cared about my academic accomplishments, and when I was in the agent trainee program at Endeavor (which is now William Morris Endeavor) the other four people in the mailroom were lawyers. But it was a great learning experience, I read 40 scripts a week and learned what made a story get through the system — and it taught me humility.

Working with Nely Galan exposed me to producing and how to develop something from the seed of an idea into a television show. Working with Minnie Driver in her production company, I got to see the process of developing a film project. It was interesting to see, not only her acting process, but why she picked the projects she picked. During this time I learned how to produce movies independently. I also got invaluable set experience working with her. I had written and directed a few short films, a documentary, written a couple of features and TV spec scripts, and from this work received a scholarship from NBC to work in TV, but I soon became pregnant and put the crazy hours and lifestyle on hold. Now that my daughter is older, I’ve been writing again and am in the process of producing a short film and feature.

NYFA: Can you talk about being an Hispanic woman in this industry?

MD: One of our recent graduates is Cuban and he said to me, “I feel honored that I’ll be receiving my diploma from a fellow Cuban.” It really touched me because it reminded me that everything that I do is not just as me but also as the half Puerto Rican, half Cuban me. It’s inspiring when you can see someone of a similar background in a position of influence. The same is true in film and TV. If you are a little girl and you see a complex representation of different cultural backgrounds on screen, it allows room for that possibility to exist in your life. If all you ever see are women of color in subservient and service careers, as a little girl, you begin to believe that that’s as far as you can go. Film and television are such powerful media, and we must use it to make impactful positive changes in our culture.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgo88CIn5rS/?utm_source=ig_embed

NYFA: Can you speak to being a woman in the film industry during the #MeToo movement, what has changed, and what still needs to be improved upon?

MD: The only way to make changes in a broken system is to bring the bad stuff to light, the stuff that we don’t really want to talk about. And that, to me, is what this whole movement is about, understanding that as much power as was used to control women, leading them to be ashamed and hide things away, can now be turned into power as they break silence and help this not happen to the next generation of women in the film business. It’s led to some hard, but good conversations with film colleagues. And it’s something we talk about in our classes here. Both men and women need to talk about it with depth, empathy, and understanding in order to make real changes. I’m grateful that we have a smart, creative, open student population that is listening and ready to demand change and equality in the film business.

NYFA: What do you think are the advantages to filming and studying film in Miami?

MD: Miami is a vibrant, artistically rich, and diverse city, so location-wise it has endless potential. And the film community is still relatively small, so once you get your foot in the door everybody helps support you. Our campus is like a true family/small production company. We help each other through personal issues as well as all of the acting and filming struggles that happen. We also have fun together; we have small get-togethers for holidays and support each other’s successes. When our students graduate, it feels like a family member is leaving, you’re so proud of them but you miss them.

NYFA: What is your vision for the future of NYFA South Beach?

MD: I have a very clear image of NYFA South Beach being this large vibrant campus that becomes a center point for film and acting education in the Southeast. I see us continuing to be a creative hotbed where people in the local community, as well as the film community at large, want to partner and do projects with us.

The New York Film Academy would like to congratulate Maylen Dominguez on her new position and thank her for her hard work and service to the community!

New York Film Academy (NYFA) VR Game Design Alum Pilar Aranda Bada Featured in Play NYC’s Graffiti Games Showcase

New York Film Academy (NYFA) VR Game Design alum Pilar Aranda Bada debuted a new VR game at Play NYC, New York’s first and largest game convention. Aranda Bada was one of a select few developers invited to create new pieces for Graffiti Games, an installation at the event that invited first-generation immigrants to creatively express their culture and experiences through their work.

Together with teammate Saúl Peña Gamero under the name Alpaca Games, Aranda Bada created one of the installation’s “standout” entries. The game, The Llama Express, invites players to ride a train through the fictional country of Esperú while feeding fluffy llamas along the way with traditional Hispanic food like sausages and beets. The VR game features a soundtrack of traditional Spanish music, and received praise for being an “endearing” way of honoring the creators’ cultural roots.

The installation was brought to life in six opera boxes in Manhattan Center’s historic Hammerstein Ballroom, where they were enjoyed by as many as 10,000 participants. In addition to the showcase in New York, the games were displayed on the event’s Twitch stream for fans around the world.

Born in Valencia, Spain, Aranda Bada is a Mixed Reality developer at Planeta.cc, a product studio focused on sound and media. In 2016, she graduated from NYFA’s pioneering VR Game Design program, which focuses on concept development, VR design, and production of interactive VR experiences, games and 360-degree films. She holds a B.S. in Industrial Design, an M.A. in Graphic Design, and an M.M. in Communications. She specializes in immersive games and experiences in both virtual and augmented reality environments.

After the success of the game at the installation, the teammates both expressed interest in continuing to develop The Llama Express for market, though any possible release of the game would likely be far off.

The New York Film Academy congratulates Pilar Aranda Bada on her success, and looks forward to seeing her future projects!

Recap: New York Film Academy (NYFA) at IFP Week 2018

This year, New York Film Academy (NYFA) was honored to help IFP Week celebrate its 40th anniversary. A leader in the independent media community, Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. NYFA was a co-sponsor for the second consecutive year. The week-long event took place at IFP’s state-of-the-art Made in NY Media Center in DUMBO, Brooklyn. A leading voice in the independent film industry, IFP also runs Filmmaker Magazine and the prestigious annual Gotham Awards.

Kicking off IFP week with #Metoo⁠ ⁠ and the Ripple Effects with panelists Anne Carey, @shrutirya and Amy Fox. Moderated by Andrea Swift of @NYFA #ifpweek pic.twitter.com/3QKstl7q66

— The Gotham Film & Media Institute (@weare_thegotham) September 15, 2018

Andrea Swift moderated an essential #MeToo panel on Saturday. The all-women panel took on difficult but necessary questions about the present and future of the industry in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The panelists discussed what needs to be done both on screen and through media activism. Filmmaker and panelist Shruti Rya Ganguly perceptively said, “The #MeToo movement is not necessarily something new, but a different way of having that conversation.”

The #MeToo Panel at IFP Week (photo provided by IFP)

The panel discussed the power of strong journalism and the exact role of social media. They also emphasized the importance of women of color in the aftermath of the #MeToo reckoning. Adding to that, Anne Carey, President of Production at Archer Gray said, “I would hope that the takeaway from this conversation is create a space of safety so people who feel threatened have a place to talk, push to tell the best stories with the best people telling them.”

NYFA Producing Instructor Krysanne Katsoolis moderated the Looking Abroad panel. This panel discussed the how-to’s and why-not’s of utilizing international co-productions and tax incentives. Katsoolis has significant multi-platform experience in content creation, financing, and distribution. She has produced over 60 films and series, and has worked with Academy and Emmy Award-winning directors. Recently Katsoolis built a media venture (Liquid Media Group) with actor Joshua Jackson, which is now public on NASDAQ.

NYFA Documentary Chair Andrea Swift (photo provided by IFP)

In addition to panels and screenings, IFP Week presented Spotlight On Documentaries, a mix of 72 documentary features, non-fiction series, and audio stories ranging from an early financing stage to those nearing completion. NYFA Screenwriting Chair Randy Dottin’s work-in-progress film The Chicago Franchise was selected for a prestigious slot in the Spotlight. The unfinished film was produced

Veranika Nikanava, NYFA Screenwriting Chair Randy Dottin, and Revital Iyov at IFP Week

by Randall Dottin and Angela Tucker, and executive produced by Cynthia Kobel. After the city of Chicago tore down its high rise public housing towers in 2011, the murder rate continued to climb. The documentary explores the complicated relationship between gun violence, poverty, and residential segregation — and how they’re all interconnected.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank IFP and the Made in NY Media Center for inclusion, yet again, in such a fantastic and thought-provoking week. We look forward to IFP Week 2019!

NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY ANIMATION STUDENT RAYT KIYA RECEIVES 2018 NYFA BURBANK COMMUNITY SCHOLARSHIP

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Los Angeles has a close relationship with its home city of Burbank, California, as well as with Burbank’s local citizens. At a recent City Council meeting, the City of Burbank recognized one of those young citizens, 18-year-old Rayt Kiya, who was presented with the 2018 NYFA Burbank Community Scholarship.

The scholarship is granted by NYFA and includes full tuition for New York Film Academy’s BFA in Animation program, where Kiya, a graduate of Burbank High School, will learn the craft of 3D Animation and Visual Effects. The scholarship was presented to Kiya by Burbank Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy and NYFA-LA Dean of Students Dr. Susan Ashe during a City Council Meeting on September 25. Video of the ceremony will be aired on The Burbank Channel (local Channel 6) for two weeks following the event.

Along with Kiya, Dr. Ashe, and Mayor Gabel-Luddy, the ceremony was also attended by Kiya’s father, as well other New York Film Academy administration members. This included Dr. Mary Samuelson, Dean of General Eduction and Chair of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Paul McKenna, Service Learning Manager of New York Film Academy’s Community Outreach Department.

Kiya is well deserving of the accolades. Asked about the young scholar, Dean of Students Dr. Susan Ashe remarks, “Rayt is passionate about animation and enthusiastic about the career opportunities ahead of him. It was an honor that NYFA could be a part of this special and public recognition.”

At the ceremony, Kiya was asked to say a few impromptu words. He was both humble and gracious, saying, “I’d like to thank the Academy for this incredible honor and opportunity.” He continued, “I’m really grateful and excited.”

Mayor Gabel-Luddy also wished to express praise for Kiya’s father, and the role he played in raising an intelligent, talented son and student. Kiya’s scholarship further strengthens NYFA’s relationship with the City of Burbank, where its Los Angeles campus is centrally located.

“We are excited to be giving back to the Burbank community and to be encouraging the youth of the Burbank community in their artistic endeavors,” adds Dr. Ashe.

At NYFA, Kiya will be studying 3D Animation. NYFA’s animation school is one of the country’s leading animation schools and offers a wide variety of VFX courses and 3D animation programs to suit the diverse needs of a wide array of talented, passionate students. The award-winning faculty of the school brings years of experience from their careers in animation and the visual arts, and share a wealth of industry secrets and practical knowledge to NYFA students.

During their time in the program, these aspiring animation and visual effect artists will learn in professional facilities with state-of-the-art equipment and software, including 3D Maya, Mudbox, MotionBuilder, Pixologic’s ZBrush digital sculptor, SideFX’s Houdini FX, Chaos Group’s V-Ray, and Foundry’s Nuke compositing and editing program.

The New York Film Academy congratulates Rayt Kiya and looks forward to the animation projects he’ll be making as a BFA student at our Los Angeles campus!

Photographer Amy Arbus Gives Master Class to New York Film Academy (NYFA) Photography Students

Acclaimed photographer Amy Arbus visited the New York Film Academy’s Battery Park campus to speak to Photography school students. Arbus’ work has been featured in many periodicals such as Rolling Stone, Village Voice, and New York Magazine, and is featured in many collections including The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Morgan Library, and the New York Public Library. Amy’s family has been renowned for their photography — she is the daughter of legendary photographer Diane Arbus, and is also the sister of famed Doon Arbus.

Her 80s street style column for Village Voice On the Street is considered one of her seminal works. “Photographers‘ first stuff is what sticks,” Arbus told NYFA students. She captured celebrities on the streets of New York City, including a young Madonna just before the release of her debut album. Her column also included British punk rockers, The Clash, in their prime.

Of her project, Ladies of the Night, Arbus said, “I broke every rule that I was ever taught.” These photos were taken in secret, from afar, without comprising
the subjects’ anonymity. Throughout the lecture, Arbus repeatedly referenced the romanticism of those photographs. Her influences also include Film Noir and Modernist Art.

During a master class with Richard Avedon in 1992, Arbus resolved some of her emotions surrounding her mother’s death (Diane Arbus died by suicide in her bath when Amy was 17). Her Tubs Pictures is a series of nude self-portraits taken in a bathtub and were featured by Avedon in his article on Amy Arbus in Aperture’s Photographers on Photographers issue 151.

One specific piece of Avedon’s advice that still motivates her to this day was a fitting message to the students in attendance: “You’ve got to contribute something to the medium… you have to do something unique.”

Arbus is in the midst of her new series Outsiders, seen below, via her Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmoOZxuF1YX/?hl=en&taken-by=amyarbus

Q&A With 2018 Glendale International Film Festival Filmmakers

Looking for something to watch this week? Look no further than the Glendale Laemmle! Several films by New York Film Academy (NYFA) alumni are official selections of the Glendale International Film Festival coming up October 5-12, 2018.

NYFA spoke with filmmakers Buffy Milner, Gabriele Fabbro, Rudy Womack, Diego Vicentini, and Boise Esquerra right before the festival and asked them to tell us about their experiences:

Type by Buffy Milner, Fall 2015 BFA Acting for Film
Screens October 6, 2018, at 2pm

New York Film Academy (NYFA): Tell us about your film, Type.

Buffy Milner (BM): Type is a coming of age story about the social struggles of a girl recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

NYFA: How did your experience at the New York Film Academy prepare you to make it?

BM: My classes at NYFA gave me the tools and knowledge that I needed to be able to write and produce my film and much of the pre-production elements, outside of the acting, that I was clueless about before I went to NYFA. The teachers that helped me the most were outside of class, during consultations: Christopher Cass, my thesis advisor, and Joe Basille.

NYFA: What are you looking forward to at your screening at Glendale International Film Festival?

BM: I have won nine awards for my film in festivals, but this is my first live event for Type. I am very excited about having the screening and getting to show my film to others.

Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Gabriele Fabbro, BFA Filmmaking Fall 2015
Screens October 7, 2018 at 10pm

NYFA: Tell us about your film.

Gabriele Fabbro (GF): Can’t Take My Eyes Off You is a narrative music video based on one of the most famous songs by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The story revolves around a confused young man who has to reject his top-model girlfriend in order to follow his true love. With the music as the driving force of the story, the film aims to break the common conception of “soundtracks perceived as accompaniment to the visual”.

NYFA: How did your experience at the New York Film Academy prepare you to make it?

GF: Past mistakes definitely have been the key to success of this film. I was lucky to work with one of the most talented casts and crews at NYFA. The film would have been a total disaster if it wasn’t for my DP Brandon Lattman, my assistant director Kelvin Shum, and my lead actors Derek Andrew Ramsay and Ydalie Turk. I’m very thankful to my directing instructor Andres Rosende, who taught me how to simplify complex concepts.

NYFA: What are you looking forward to at your screening at Glendale International Film Festival?

GF: I’ve had two other projects shown at the Glendale Festival. One in 2016, and in 2017 my intermediate film won “Best Student Film”. I’ve worked for the festival throughout 2018. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend this year’s screening. I’ll be shooting a feature documentary in Italy during the festival period. I hope my cast and crew will attend and do some networking. I’m always nervous to watch one of my films on a theatre. I’ve been to over 40 festivals now and that fear still doesn’t leave me.

In This Gray Place by Rudy Womack, MFA Filmmaking; produced by Radhika Womack, 1-Year Producing

Screens October 10, 2018, at 8pm

NYFA: Tell us about your film.

Rudy Womack (RW): In This Gray Place is a feature, a psychological thriller about Aaron, a petty criminal who is involved in a robbery gone wrong. Wounded and surrounded by police, he barricades himself in a rest stop bathroom.

NYFA: How did your experience at the New York Film Academy prepare you to make it?

RW: Just about everyone involved with the project I met at NYFA! The lead actor, Aleksander Ristic, was in the MFA Acting program alongside me in the filmmaking department. I also met the Director of Photography, Naeem Seirafi, at NYFA. He was in the Cinematography school. And, of course, my wife Radhika Womack, who was in the Producing program at NYFA when we first met. All of my experience at NYFA taught me how to pre-plan every small detail. We were a very limited crew with limited resources, so planning was essential to the success of the film.

NYFA: What are you looking forward to at your screening at Glendale International Film Festival?

RW: Glendale is a fantastic festival and we are very lucky to be a part of it. The caliber of the other films speaks volumes to the quality of the festival and the filmmakers involved. This is our 15^th screening, so the nerves have finally gone away. After the first few screenings, I went back and fine-tuned the edit, so I’m very excited to share it with a couple of people who haven’t seen this version. And, of course, I can’t wait to show it to all my friends and colleagues who haven’t seen it yet

Simón by Diego Vicentini, Fall 16 MFA Filmmaking

Screens Thursday, October 11th at 6:00pm at the Laemmle Glendale Theatre

NYFA: Tell us about your film.

Diego Vicentini (DV): Simón tells the story of a young Venezuelan freedom fighter seeking political asylum in the United States after being persecuted by the Venezuelan government. Simón must then find a way to keep helping the cause from thousands of miles away.

NYFA: How did your experience at the New York Film Academy prepare you to make it?

DV: The screenwriting and directing classes were the ones that most helped propel the creation and execution of Simón. Gil McDonald from screenwriting read multiple drafts of the script, always helping guide the story to fulfill its potential, as well as urging us to write about something we were passionate about. Andres Rosende then helped to make sure the story was in good shape both in the writing and after, during post-production while I was editing.

NYFA: What are you looking forward to at your screening at Glendale International Film Festival?

DV: I am looking forward to beginning the festival run of Simón, lucky to be able to have our first public screening in our own city of LA. I am also looking forward to spreading awareness about the dire situation that Venezuelans are going through right now through audiences watching the film.

Cowboy by Boise Esquerra, Fall 2015 MFA Filmmaking

Screens Thursday, October 11, 2018, at 10pm

NYFA: Tell us about your film.

Boise Esquerra (BE): Cowboy is a short drama produced and filmed in the surrounding Burbank area and the Santa Clarita valley. It’s about a bitter, lonely cowboy who is set at ease after crossing paths with a promiscuous female vagabond.

NYFA: How did your experience at the New York Film Academy prepare you to make it?

BE: From the get go, NYFA provides a multitude of hands-on exercises and projects for you to delve right into, allowing for much learning, practice, and most importantly, learning from your mistakes. These lessons are invaluable because they allow you to progress in your craft, so long as you take each one seriously. In particular, towards my final semesters, instructors like Tony Schwartz, James Pasternak, and Greg Marks helped me to reel in everything I learned and apply it to a solid project. Cowboy was the end result.

NYFA: What are you looking forward to at your screening at Glendale International Film Festival?

BE: I am looking forward to the screening itself!

The New York Film Academy congratulates our filmmakers and wishes them the best of luck! For more information about screenings and tickets, click HERE.

Student Perspective: NewFilmmakers LA Latinx and Hispanic Cinema Event

Andres Vergara is a Spring 2018 MFA Screenwriting student at New York Film Academy (NYFA). On September 8, he and over two dozen other students from NYFA’s Los Angeles campus attended the NewFilmmakers LA Latinx and Hispanic Cinema Event. Vergara found time between his classes and writing his screenplays to recount the event in his own words:

Diversity took over at the NewFilmmakers LA Latinx and Hispanic Cinema Event this eighth of September. Hundreds of guests got together at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater as proof that opportunities are opening up for filmmakers from different backgrounds to share their points of view with an audience always hungry for unique stories that showcase different cultures. It began with a wonderful reception where delegations from many different film schools got a chance to mingle and take photos on the red carpet. The New York Film Academy group was strong as students from different ethnicities joined their Latinx and Hispanic peeps to celebrate diversity.

Once everyone got a seat in the theater, the first panel was announced and five amazing people from the industry walked onstage to share stories, points of view, and advice. The panel included: Nicole Levy, writer for Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger; Frank Gonzales, Executive in Charge of Diversity at the DGA; Richard Ray Perez, from Sundance; Hebe Tabachnik, Programmer at the Seattle and Palms Springs International Film Festivals; and Catherine Hardwicke; Director of Twilight and the acclaimed Thirteen. This very diverse group (not only in their background, but in their jobs) gave guests insight into how the Hollywood Industry is changing. Even though it is getting more and more competitive, it is uplifting to know there are also more and more people willing to make a bet on new, different voices.

The second panel comes up. Five amazing Latinas who are taking a stand, not only for their origin, but for their gender, take the stage. Even from a male point of view, it is inspirational to know that the industry is making room for women who are quickly rising to the top: Paula Sabbaga, writer for CW’s Dynasty; Roxanne Pompa, VP for International Formats at CBS; Greta Talia Fuentes, Creative Executive at MACRO; Edith Mendoza, SVP for Comedy Development at CBS; and Alejandra Reyes Rocha, Television Literary at UTA. These great role models for women and Hispanics alike talked about how they got where they are, discussing the many options that exist for diversity and showing their support for upcoming filmmakers. They encouraged us to have a sense of community in which we help each other out as fellow Latinx.

After an enriching Q&A, we were invited back to the lobby to have great Mexican food, accompanied by Latin music to keep up the mood. And after another chance for networking, even with some of the guest speakers, the showcase finally began. Filmmakers from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Spain, the United States, Mexico, and my native Colombia—among others—screened amazing short films that showed unique stories and points of view that all cinephiles can love. From romance to sci-fi and a compelling documentary about a Peruvian farmer, the productions made the audience applaud the talent of emerging Hispanic filmmakers.

NewFilmmakers LA is very much committed to creating a platform for new talent, and whether you are a director, a writer, a cinematographer, or even if you are more into TV than film, they make sure that their events are a well-rounded and fulfilling experience in which guests can enjoy different pieces and hear from those who are making their way through the industry. Not to mention, it is a perfect opportunity for meeting colleagues. My ethnicity encouraged me to attend one of their events for the first time, but my love for films and my admiration for their initiative will have their monthly events in my schedule from now on.

Written by Andres Vergara

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And the Winners of the New York Film Academy 48 Hour Film Challenge Are…

Last month, New York Film Academy (NYFA) held a 48 Hour Film Challenge for its students. The objective of the contest was to create a short public service announcement (PSA) about the importance of voting.

With the midterm US elections quickly approaching and representing a watershed moment in modern American politics, NYFA felt it was important its students had a voice and worked together to communicate with one another about the democratic institution.

The goal of the challenge was to create something that would motivate and inspire people to vote in the upcoming US elections. The midterms are held every two years in the middle of a presidential term, and are often given less news coverage and weight than a presidential election, focusing on smaller elections as well as the entire 435-seat House of Representatives. However, with the country severely fractured politically and culturally and following a close presidential election with an unexpected outcome, 2018’s midterms have been taken more seriously by politicians, the media, and voting citizens alike.

With only 48 hours to film and edit their PSAs, the challenge wrapped in the evening of September 23. Students could then watch and vote for their favorite from the top three videos. Voting ended at 11:59 p.m. (EST) on September 28.

With the most votes, the winner of the Vote PSA 48 Hour Film Challenge is…

VOTE NOW OR TAKE WHAT YOU GET

…and the winning students who worked on the PSA are…

Winnie Wang, Xu Cheng, Thor Renner, Carla Hancock, Nino Kvaratskhelia, King Wong, and Nikolaos-Nikias Galatis

While the winning students certainly earned their votes and the top prize, everyone involved should be commended for the hard work they put into a very worthy cause.

Student Life and Title IX Coordinator Carlye Bowers, who helped organize the event, stated, “It was very inspiring to see students, who have never met each other, get together and create such powerful messages — all within 48 hours!”

This year, Election Day in the United States will be held on November 6. The New York Film Academy congratulates the winners of the 48 Hour Film Challenge and encourages everyone who is eligible to go out and vote!

NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY (NYFA) FILMMAKING ALUM MARK O’CONNOR’S HIT FILM “CARDBOARD GANGSTERS” PREMIERES IN U.S.

This weekend, American audiences finally got the chance to catch up with Irish moviegoers, who have been raving about New York Film Academy (NYFA) alum Mark O’Connor’s film Cardboard Gangsters for the past year. The crime thriller feature, which has been a massive hit in Ireland, had its US premiere on September 29 at the 4th Annual Irish American Movie Hooley.

Cardboard Gangsters was directed by Mark O’Connor, who wrote the screenplay with star John Connors. Connors has worked with O’Connor on three films so far, and has earned rave reviews for his lead performance in Gangsters as an angry and ambitious wannabe gangster who takes on more dangerous, established criminals. The role has already earned him the IFTA Actor Award.

“Myself and John,” Connors says about the film and its influences from the earliest days of the genre, “are fascinated by all that stuff, gangster movies, going all the way back.”

The film was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and has resonated with Irish audiences, quickly becoming the country’s biggest box office hit of 2017 and earning multiple awards, including Best Feature Film at the Manchester International Film Festival. It is still finding continued success on Netflix as well.

It was no wonder then that the film’s premiere in the United States was so anticipated. It screened at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago as part of the Irish American Movie Hooley. The screening was followed by a Q&A with Mark O’Connor, who brought his wife and young son along for the trip.

O’Connor grew up in South Dublin before moving to America to go to school. In December 2002, he attended New York Film Academy’s 6-week Filmmaking workshop. The intensive course provides a hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment and training from a professional faculty that work regularly in the industry. O’Connor received his education at NYFA’s New York City campus.

Before Gangsters, O’Connor wrote and directed several other films, including Dead Samurai, Between the Canals, Stalker, and King of the Travellers. He is currently developing the feature Soldier for a Summer and the television series Darklands.

The New York Film Academy congratulates Filmmaking alum Mark O’Connor on the wild success of Cardboard Gangsters, and looks forward to seeing where his career takes him next!