Page 179 – NYFA

NYFA FILMMAKING ALUMNUS RUCHIR GARG’S “IT’S GAWD!” SCREENING IN NEW YORK CITY, AND AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

New York Film Academy filmmaking alumnus Ruchir Garg’s film “It’s Gawd!” starring Tommy Chong, Luke Perry and Rebecca Maden, has been released on Amazon and is screening August 24 at the AMC in Union Square, New York City.

The special screening at Union Square will include an exclusive Q&A with the film’s director, Gerald “Jerry” Brunskill, who is also known for his composing and music editing work on films and television series including “World’s Greatest Dad” and “She Spies.”

“It’s Gawd!” is an independent comedy originally released in 2013, that has found a cult following. The story follows Gawd, actual creator of the universe, as he travels to earth to appear in a late night variety show to reconnect with humanity and save the world.

The film was Tommy Chong’s first leading role without his longtime comedy partner, Cheech Marin. Chong told the Hollywood Reporter in 2013, “I liked (Jerry’s) take on God combined with the comedy. If you look at the world today as it is, you gotta think only a stoner could’ve put that together.”

NYFA filmmaking alumnus Ruchir Garg was one of the executive producers on the film. He points to his training at NYFA as helping pave the way for the skills he used to bring this indie feature to life: “The NYFA experience turned out to very useful because it was very hands on,” says Garg. “When I came across the script for ‘It’s Gawd!’ I was familiar enough with the filmmaking process so I could ask the right questions to make an informed decision. In fact, I am pretty sure that without some prior knowledge of the process, I would not have had the courage to take it up the project.”

For those in the New York City area, further information and tickets for the August 24 screening can be found here.

NYFA Filmmaking Alumna Ahd Kamel Stars in Netflix’s “Collateral”

New York Film Academy 1-Year Filmmaking Program alumna Ahd Kamel will star in upcoming Netflix and BBC collaboration “Collateral.”

As reported in Stepfeed, “Collateral” is a 4-part thriller set in modern-day London, which explores the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a delivery man. Kamel will portray a Muslim woman named Fatima, acting alongside Oscar-nominated superstar Carrie Mulligan as well as British actors John Simm, Billie Piper, and July Namir. The series is written by Oscar-winning screenwriter David Hare, known for such films as “The Reader” and “The Hours.”

Kamel is a multi-hyphenate artist, especially notable as a female filmmaker in an industry and nation where women are extremely underrepresented. With a background in animation, Kamel has broken barriers not only an actress and filmmaker, but according to Huffington Post is also developing a new comic book series within the SGR (Saudi Girl Revolution) universe.

The actress is perhaps best known for her turn as the severe headmistress in Haifaa Al-Mansour’s groundbreaking “Wadjda,” which follows a young Saudi girl in her quest to acquire a green bicycle by raising funds through a school competition. As the Washington Post notes, “Wadjda” made history: The film was not only the first Saudi film to be submitted to the Oscars race, but also the first feature created entirely in Saudi Arabia by a female filmmaker. Kamel’s own filmmaking debut “The Shoemaker” won Best Short Film at Beirut International Film Festival and won Special Jury Mention at the Arab Film Festival of Oran, Algeria. Her sophomore film “Sanctity” screened at the Berlin Festival, setting a record as the first Saudi film to do so.

Kamel told Your Middle East that she is not interested in sending messages with her work, but rather in asking questions, using film for expression, and drawing inspiration from life. For her, there is a universal story to tell: “Being Saudi definitely opens the door, but I have to walk through it,” she told the magazine … “I think for me to grow, I need to be able to find humanity in any character and to be able to make any story regardless of its origin.”

“Collateral” is due to release sometime in 2018.

Kamel was named by Vogue Arabia as “the breakout star for the times.” Kamel told Vogue, “I feel very blessed to do what I love. When I was younger, I was asked, ‘You come from a respectful family, why did you choose the arts? … We have to tell our stories.”

NYFA+RED Audience Award

What is the NYFA+RED Competition?

New York Film Academy (NYFA) in partnership with RED affords NYFA students the unique opportunity to showcase some of their best work and win amazing prizes.

We asked NYFA students to submit their one-year projects or thesis films, the only caveat being that they had to be shot entirely on RED cameras.

In the gallery below you’ll find the finalists that were selected from over one hundred submissions.

What is the Audience Award?

The Audience Award is an opportunity for you to cast your vote for your favorite film and help determine the winner.

The cinematographer of the film with the most votes will win a REDucation voucher worth $1,500.

How to Vote?

Voting is super easy:

Browse the gallery below
Click on the thumbnail to view the film
Click the “Vote” for your favorite film.

You are allowed to cast one vote per day. Want to share with friends? Use the share buttons to send to your friends so they can vote too!

The film with the most votes at the end of the contest period wins!

Voting closes August 25, 2017 at 5 PM PT.

Content Warning: Please note that some videos in the gallery below may contain content that may be inappropriate for some viewers. Each video contains a specific content warning. In general, some of these videos may contain:

Adult Language Adult Themes Including Suicide
Mild Nudity Graphic Violence
Suggested Drug Use Sexually Mature Content

NYFA Filmmaking Alumnus Rohit Mittal Feature “Autohead” Releases on Netflix, “Megalopolis” in the WordsTalks

NYFA 1-Year Filmmaking Program alumnus Rohit Mittal has just wrapped production on his second independent feature film, “Megalopolis,” with his first, “Autohead,” released worldwide on Netflix.

“Autohead” earned rave reviews and awards at major festivals worldwide — including 49th Sitges Film Festival, 40th Hong Kong International Film Festival, CPH:PIX, and more. “Autohead” attracted attention from major publications like The Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, Fangoria, and Al Jazeera before its worldwide digital release on Netflix. And that’s not all: anticipation is already high for “Megalopolis,” which The Reel has highlighted as a smart meditation on a dark side of human nature.

We had a chance to catch up with Mittal in the midst of his busy schedule via email to hear some of his insights on the process of producing his independent features and finding distribution with Netflix.

NYFA: First, can you tell us a little bit about your journey and what brought you to NYFA?

RM: I was always interested in movies and literature, but after high school I had to go to law school because it’s a norm in India to get a degree so that you can get a job. But I was not interested in law. In law school all I ever did was watch movies, a lot of them (mainly foreign films), read books, and I wrote poems, short stories, and I also made short films. But after graduating from law school I had to take up a job.

I worked in a law firm in Mumbai. It was the worst experience of my life. Even then I was making short films over the weekends. After a point it became really frustrating so I decided to quit the job and go to a film school, for two main reasons. One, that I can have a better understating of filmmaking, and the other, to leave the country.

That’s when I got to know about NYFA. I researched a lot, and NYFA was the only place that offered a very practical hands-on training, and they had the one-year program. The idea to make a film every week really excited me, and a friend was already studying here. So I decided immediately to attend this school.

NYFA: Do you have any favorite NYFA moments?

RM: Well, there were many. The best were with the friends I made. And all of them were from different countries, so making films with them was great fun.

NYFA: What inspired your first feature, “Autohead”? Can you tell us a bit about that production process?

RM: …I wanted to do a character study of a criminal. Also I wanted to explore and question the voyeurism of filmmakers, of films, of the camera. I wanted to question the eye. So yes, with all of this put together I came up with that story.

We did a lot of planning before we started shooting. We planned for almost four months, because we did not have many days to shoot. We shot the whole film in 14 days, so we could not afford to make mistakes or lose time. In those four months of pre-production I also rehearsed a lot with actors and looked for authentic locations.

NYFA: How did your distribution deal with Netflix come about? (And congrats!)

RM: Thank you. Well I got in touch with one of the employees at Netflix. By that time the film had traveled to many festivals, won awards and also got many great reviews. So they got really excited about the film. They saw the film, loved it, and then my sales agent in France and I cracked the deal.

NYFA: What inspired your shift from the documentary style of “Autohead” to the more surreal and poetic feel of “Megalopolis”?

RM: The documentary style in “Autohead” was an integral part of the story, because the story was that there is this documentary crew filming an Aut rickshaw driver in Mumbai who turns out to be a killer. So the form became a part of the storytelling. Which is why I love the mockumentary format.

In “Megalopolis” there is more a formalistic approach. I just wanted to go back to what cinema originally was, that is just visuals and sound. Also I think it is more honest. It is more me. “Autohead” was also honest but it was more angst-driven.

“Megalopolis” is the kind of film I always wanted to make. Also, it’s based on a novel by my favorite novelist of all time, Fydor Dostoyevsky. So I have tried to adapt that in my own way into visuals and sound. And as far as surrealism is concerned, to be honest that’s how I see things. That’s how I see life. Maybe surreal is real. Or vice versa.

NYFA: What were some of your greatest challenges in getting your feature films made? What advice would you offer to students looking to make that leap?

RM: The biggest challenge as we all know is to get the funding. But the way I did it was as independent as things can get.

For the first film I borrowed money from people which was enough to shoot and edit the film. Once I finished editing the film I started showing it around and that’s when I found another producer to finish the film. All of this took me around 10 months or so, including the wait.

The idea is to be as realistic as possible, and it starts with your writing. I wrote those films knowing that there is going to be very little money. I had the budget in mind while writing the script. That way I was more realistic and did not build castles in the air, because to be honest I don’t like to wait.

I don’t have the patience to wait for 10 years to get a big budget for my film, and today it’s possible to create a decent, sellable film with little money. And people made it even 20 or 30 years ago when there was no digital technology. So we have some great examples, and we can follow them and tell a very honest personal story.

NYFA: Would you say your time at NYFA was at all helpful in preparing you for what you’re doing today?

RM: Yes. I would say so. That’s purely because of the practical training I had at the school. Also the time I got for myself, living in another country. So I figured what I like and what I don’t like, and what I am good at.

Also I loved to break rules all the time in film school, I enjoyed that a lot and ended up learning a lot. And the biggest and best lessons I learnt were from making bad films. I cherish them. And I experimented a lot. A lot of times I failed, but they were great lessons. Thank god I made mistakes. Film schools are meant for that, to make mistakes.

NYFA: What about the story or themes in “Megalopolis” felt like they needed to be told, now?

RM: …You can say that “Megalopolis” or the big city is a metaphor for the human condition in today’s day and age. The city is the ultimate dream. I don’t know if it’s a good one or a bad one. And everything revolves around the city. The city is the central character. It consumes us all. It may be a monster … So yes, with all this I am trying to understand the violent nature of humanity.

NYFA: Can you tell us a bit about what’s next for you — any upcoming projects or festivals?

RM: I am still finishing the post-production of “Megalopolis.” And hopefully it will travel to festivals. And yes, I am planning to make another film soon. That is February, 2018. I will start work on it as soon as I have finished writing the script.

The New York Film Academy would like to congratulate Mittal on all his recent success with “Autohead” and “Megalopolis” and wish him the best in his future endeavors.

NYFA Los Angeles Welcomes Viceland’s Eddie Huang as Guest Speaker

This month, the New York Film Academy welcomed New York Times Bestselling author (“Fresh off the Boat”), chef, designer, and producer Eddie Huang to the Los Angeles campus. The event was hosted by Q & A Director Tova Laiter, who produced “Glory” with Denzel Washington.

Huang showed NYFA students a segment he filmed in D.C. part of a series he is producing and stars in for Viceland called “Huang’s World.” On his show, Huang travels the world tasting unique foods from every culture.

Huang has an incredible resume that included being a lawyer and doing stand-up comedy. He shared that he had wanted to get into film but was told no one wanted to buy Asian American stories. He was crushed, but he did not let it stop him from being an artist.

“Americans expect us (Asian Americans) to be good at cooking and kung-fu,” Huang said. So he started cooking, but kept his focus on Asian culture when he spoke to the media. Pretty quickly he was picked up for shows like “Munchies” and “Snack-Off.”

Laiter asked Huang how he pitched “Huang’s World” to Viceland. Essentially, he blended his frustration with not being seen with his love of food: “I told them I wanted to explore culture through food.” That was it. The show was picked up for six episodes.

When asked how he’s been able to accomplish so much in his short life Huang said, “It’s schedule and discipline. If I wake up and I’m not on it, I get mad.”

That attitude has permeated every aspect of his life. He has studied everything (“its about the science of it”) from boxing to film to the difference in how his parents cooked (“mother was more focus and her food tasted better!”).

Huang expanded upon the unique racism he has faced. In one anecdote, he shared that once he had written an article for a local paper. They liked it so much, they asked him to come in for a job. But when they saw his face they didn’t think people would be interested in talking to him. This is one example of many.

So, Huang began working a lot of different jobs: “I didn’t know where my entry point was.”

Huang explained that it is impossible to know where to start a career, but by being forced to start over so many times he grew into a more knowledgeable person and a stronger candidate for every job he applied for afterward.

His final lesson: “Whatever you’re doing, do it well.”

Huang had a lot of advice for students, including taking advantage of the library here at NYFA. “I just happened to walk into your library and you guys have a great collection. Use it!” Huang likes to go to Cinefile and watch the entire filmography of a single director. “I like seeing how they’ve progressed from start to finish.”

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Eddie Huang for speaking to our students. You can watch his show “Huang’s World” on Viceland.

NYFA Producing Grad Kalpana Malviya’s Made in America Airs on Zee TV

New York Film Academy Producing graduate Kalpana Malviya’s original reality program Made in America launches this week on Zee TV, India’s largest television network.

India.com reports that Made in America is the first-ever English-language Bollywood reality program to be produced entirely in Hollywood. Hosted by Nina Davuluri, the 2014 Miss America winner, the show chronicles the journey of six young South East Asian women selected from a pool of 6,000 hopefuls in a talent competition in the vein of America’s Next Top Model. The competition includes participation in acting classes at the New York Film Academy.

Last fall, Malviya told the New York Film Academy Blog that her NYFA training was a help in poising her to launch her professional life in television: “I’m from India. Hollywood films really pop in India. I took what I learned at NYFA and landed a job with Zee TV.”

It was while working with Zee TV that Malviya came up with the idea for Made in America, which combines Hollywood glamour with Bollywood power for an entirely unique reality television experience. Malviya recalled, “I pitched them the idea. They loved it and now, here we are.”

As Sameer Targe, CEO, ZEE TV America explained to India.com, Zee TV is “the flagship television network for the South Asian community in the United States,” meaning that the new reality program will provide an exciting collaboration and cultural bridge between Hollywood and Bollywood.

We had a chance to catch up with Kalpana Malviya to hear her thoughts about bringing her original series to life.

NYFA: First, can you tell us a bit about your journey and what brought you to the New York Film Academy?

KM: As a child I was always fascinated by films and wanted to make movies and TV shows. I pursued modeling in India to try and further my dreams. I won (first runner up) a beauty pageant, Miss Gladrags, 2009, and from there received many opportunities. After my modeling contract was up, I started working at various production companies. I soon realized I had to learn. So, I decided to come to the New York Film Academy to expand my knowledge in production.

NYFA: Do you have a favorite NYFA moment from your time studying with us?

KM: My favorite NYFA moment was the realization of my true abilities. I saw a new world opening with tremendous opportunities all around me. I was soaking up as much as I could, but it wasn’t until a professor from NYFA sat me down and told me that I had a natural talent for producing, I realized what I wanted to do within the industry.

NYFA: What inspired your passion for producing?

KM: In addition to my fascination with films, I had a knack for business. I am certain the business woman in me was influenced by watching my father run his own company. I found myself naturally gravitating towards producing, without realizing what it was at the time. There I could utilize both my creativity and business abilities to produce quality film & TV shows, which allowed me to bring all my skills to the table. It wasn’t just enough to understand the story, I had to visualize and work towards bringing my vision to the right niche market.

NYFA: Now that Made in America has aired on Zee TV (congrats, again!), can you tell us how your role as a producer has evolved? Are there any aspects of bringing the production to air that have surprised you, or opened new challenges?

KM: I would have to say that learning to market the show to the right audience was certainly a challenging and evolving aspect for me. In addition, to bring the story forth I had to explore new ways of marketing with social media, targeted ad campaigns, and press coverage, all while keeping in mind the final goal of increasing our show’s revenue.

NYFA: Would you say your time at NYFA was at all useful for preparing you for the work you are doing today?

KM: Of course! I took my first steps toward development, direction and distribution (“Triple D’s”) at NYFA. There, I gained all the necessary knowledge and technical skills to become a creative mega force. All of those technical skills and creative understanding are critical for my role at Zee TV.

NYFA: You’ve said in other interviews that part of your inspiration for Made in America was a desire to see more high quality South East Asian content on TV. Can you share with our international student community your view, as a working producer, as to why this is so important?

KM: I think it’s super important to celebrate diversity within media. America has been recognized as the melting pot of cultures from my recollection. Its even more pertinent to bring this to our communities given today’s heated political climate. We can use media as an outlet to reflect different ethnicities, viewpoints, and lifestyles. I would urge to all student to choose a media platform that represents diversity.

I am thankful to be a part of one such media force with a threshold of 1 billion viewers over 171 countries around the world. Zee TV brings cultures together and celebrates differences in cultures of our unique countries to amplify the beauty.

NYFA: For our producing students, can you offer any advice on bringing an original concept like Made in America to live on a major network?

KM: Its a combination of finding the right media platform that allows you to be innovative and creative and where the executives fully support their staff’s new ideas. Without people like Sameer Targe (Zee America’s CEO) and Kitty Koo (VP International Relations at NYFA), among others, to support and believe in me, making these shows would not be possible.

At the end of the day you need to believe in your own vision and people to help you make that vision a reality. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” (Harriet Tubman)

NYFA: Can you share with us about any upcoming projects you are working on?

KM: I’m working on an array of new programs produced in the U.S. by Zee, which will air on the channel throughout 2017 and 2018. There’s a huge variety in what we’re producing — a matchmaking show, a business show, and a new style family quiz game show, as well as a docu-drama on successful Indian-American entrepreneurs.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Kalpana Malviya for taking the time to share a part of her story with our community.

Interested in learning more about the in’s and out’s of the production industry? Join us for our 8-Week Producing Workshop where our prospective producers create their own individual project and follow its production from beginning to end.

NYFA Alumnus Pavel Suslov Talks About his Internship at Warner Brothers

Growing up in Russia, Pavel Suslov developed his passion for filmmaking from the time he got his first camera at the age of seven. Who could have guessed that this camera would eventually lead him to an internship at Warner Brothers?

“Kids today may not find this unusual (everyone has a smartphone in their hands from an early age),” noted Suslov, “But back then it was quite out of the norm.”

During school years, Suslov was making videos about his dogs, family members, friends, and toys. He soon realized that he wanted to turn this creative hobby into a professional career. After graduating from the St. Petersburg State University of Cinema and Television, he worked for five years creating music videos and commercials for such companies as Ski-doo and Mercury engines, as well as making video reports on local and international events for Gatebil, Formula Drift, and RDS.

Suslov told NYFA, “At some point, I realized that I wanted to grow even more. That’s why I started looking for a film school abroad. There’s probably no better place to gain film industry experience and networking than Hollywood. It became one of the fundamental reasons I enrolled in the New York Film Academy’s MFA Filmmaking Program.”

Immediately after graduating, Suslov secured himself an internship at Warner Brothers, and was happy to sit down with us and share his experience with NYFA community.

ET: First of all, congratulations on your internship with Warner Bros. Tell us, what is included in your daily duties?

PS: Thank you! It’s hard to name it an internship; it’s more a full-time job. I work in the Visual Department, which is responsible for all the video content produced by the company: music videos, promo videos for social networks, new albums, singles, artists, etc. My duties include editing, project development, filming, creating graphics and concepts for various artists. One of my recent projects was a new clip for Linkin Park’s “Talking to Myself,” which was completed shortly before the death of the lead singer, Chester Bennington, and will be the last music video made with all the original members of the band.

ET: What day during the internship was the most striking and why?

PS: It is difficult to single out a certain day, since each of them is very different from other. Today you are going to work on a shoot with Echosmith, tomorrow you are editing the Linkin Park music video, after that you are thinking through new ideas for Mastadon and how to revive their cover visually and dynamically, and the next day you go to the lobby where you meet the new singer of the label. I’m very grateful to my manager, Laura Mende, who tells me various stories about artists and the shooting processes.

It is worth noting that team spirit is very developed at Warner Bros. Every week there are different staff lunches or meetings. Sometimes bands come to our office to give mini-performances for employees in the backyard. Every time a band or a single of the label goes to the top of the chart, we order huge pizzas for the entire office and arrange lunch in the courtyard.

ET: How long will your internship last?

PS: Under my current contract the internship will last 5 months. After that I can decide whether I want to stay or not. I think that my answer is obvious.

ET: Do you think that the experience you got at NYFA has come in handy for you during this internship?

PS: Definitely. Firstly, it’s about communications, and team work. Almost nothing can be done without a team. I learned this from numerous experiences at NYFA and from our group workshops.

Then, the filming process. Of course I had experience in implementing projects before, but at NYFA I got an education that allows me to understand who is responsible for what on a set, as well as the main points of pre-production.

I must say that the differences in the filmmaking process between Russia and here are enormous. I have never regretted going to NYFA, it allowed me to strengthen my filmmaking knowledge and afforded me the chance to intern at Warner Bros.

NYFA: What are you planning to do after your internship at Warner Brothers?

PS: In fact, there are many plans. Recently, I started my Vlog on YouTube: at the moment it is designed for a Russian speaking audience, but I have plans to expand it to the English speakers as well. I do not know yet where it will lead, but I can say one thing; for the time that I’m doing this internship, I met a lot of people from completely different industries. And with some of them, we have interesteing projects planned for the future.

At the same time, I manage to work on independent projects: commercials and music videos. I’m about to finish my short film and in August we have plans to shoot an Imagine Dragons video, but unfortunately I cannot disclose details yet.

And, of course, I would like to continue working for Warner Brothers.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Pavel Suslov for his time and wish him continued success in his endeavors.

NYFA Faculty Jaime Permuth Leads “Artistic Identity and Transcendence” Workshop in Guatemala

Guatemalan photographer Jaime Permuth returned home for an immensely popular photography workshop entitled “Artistic Identity and Transcendence.” It was a homecoming for Permuth who hails from Guatemala City. He has been a member of the faculty at New York Film Academy since 2011, having taught the majority of the courses offered in the Photography program at one point or another.

Over a series of three intensive sessions, participants explored the intersection of who they are as artists and how to find the right context for their practice in the photographic marketplace. For attendees, there were two avenues of exploration. The first looked at personal and artistic identity and featured writing and visual literacy exercises along with group dynamics. The second segment was more practically focused about how to place artwork within the context of the marketplace.

Prior to the workshop, Permuth was invited by La Fototeca – the sole photography school in Central America – to present an Artist Talk. La Fototeca was founded in 2009 and is known, in large part, to their prestigious triennial called GuatePhoto, which draws talented photographers worldwide. Jaime’s event saw over 350 people reserve seats in advance. Due to the overwhelming interest, organizers had to switch venues and hold it in the building’s parking garage instead. Clearly in popular worldwide demand, in December, the New York via Guatemala photographer will lead a workshop in Cuba for Camera Voyages. His work can currently be seen at Harlem’s El Museo del Barrio in the exhibition “nasty women / bad hombres.”

“New York City taught me to work professionally at the highest level. But Guatemala is where I learned to see and feel the world and the life around me. My native country is never far from my mind,” Permuth says proudly. “As a Guatemalan who has lived abroad more than half of his life – I worry that people back home have ceased to think about me. Or worse even, that I have ceased to be relevant to the cultural life of the country. And yet, coming back to a standing-room only-crowd at my talk and a sold-out workshop reassures me that perhaps this is not the case.”

We can confidently say it most certainly is not the case.

Over the course of his career, Permuth’s work has also been featured on NPR, TimeOut, ArtNet, FeatureShoot, and many other publications. His photography has been displayed all across New York City in the Museum of Modern Art, Queens Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, The Bronx Museum, The Museum of the City of New York, and many other museums. Along with being NYFA faculty, he teaches at the School of Visual Arts in their Digital Photography program. To learn more about Jaime and his work, check out his website.

Where Are They Now: NYFA Beijing Filmmaking Alumni

When it comes to New York Film Academy alumni, we are always very excited to hear the answer to the eternal question: where are they now? New York Film Academy 4-Week Filmmaking Program graduates in Beijing, China, have taken our commitment to hands-on learning to new heights after leaving their four-week intensive programs. We recently had a chance to check in and see what NYFA Beijing alumni Terry Chan, Cao Yaoyao, Phoenix Liu, and Nan Zhang have been up to since completing their certificate programs.

Terry Chan

Terry Chan is well known for his work as a composer of the Wang Kai-Wai film, “Days of Being Wild.” The film won Best Film at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards. He also composed the score of “He Ri Jun Zai Lai,” which was nominated for Best Original Score at the 11th Hong Kong Film Awards and the 28th Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards. Chan also scored fellow NYFA alum Phoenix Liu’s film “30 1/2,” which won for Best Original Score at the Asians On Film Festival 2013.

Recently, Terry has been working on some new videos for absolutefitnesshk while also keeping busy producing albums and directing concerts for many well-known singers in Hong Kong and Taiwan, including Faye Wong, Sammi Cheng, Kelly Chan, Karen Mok, Joey Yung and Elva Hsiao.

Cao Yaoyao

Director Cao Yaoyao is well known for her work on popular Chinese television programs, especially “If You Are the One.” This adaptation of the ITV program “Take Me Out” (“Taken Out” on Network 10 in Australia) became the most popular dating reality show in China, with a staggering audience of 50,000,000 per episode.

Phoenix Liu

Phoenix Liu is the director of the film “30 1/2,” for which she collaborated with composer and fellow NYFA alum Terry Chan. Phoenix also directed the first Chinese Australian study abroad TV series “Wanderers.”

Nan Zhang

Nan Zhang recently worked as a script supervisor on the “Once Upon a Time,” a romantic and dramatic Chinese fantasy feature produced by Alibaba Pictures and directed by Zhao Xiaoding and Anthony LaMolinara. The film, based on popular fantasy novel “Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles Peach Blossoms” also known as “To the Sky Kingdom,” grossed CN¥175 million, or approximately $25,000,000, on its opening day. The film releases in August 2017 in North America.

Zhang is also assistant director on the film “Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings,” slated to release in 2018.