Page 261 – NYFA

NYFA Student Directs Comedy TV Show for Kazakhstan Television

At just 22 years old, New York Film Academy BFA Filmmaking student Medet Shayakhmetov has taken giant steps toward achieving his professional goals. His numerous filmmaking credits include directing music videos for the top Russian rap artist duo Basta/Guf and a commercial for a Swiss social network — Swiss Social, which he wrote, directed and shot. Last spring he directed a comedy TV-show “Q-eлi,” about life in different parts of Kazakhstan, for the Kazakhstan TV’s “Channel Seven.” But his journey into the film industry wasn’t always smooth sailing.

“It is very important to follow your heart, believe in yourself and believe that everything is possible,” says Medet. From a very young age he loved arts and wanted to pursue a career in design. But in high school his friend asked him to help make a video for a friend’s 16th birthday. Once Medet held a camera in his hands, he knew right away that filmmaking was going to be one of his life’s passions. He made a serious effort to choose the right film school while building a strong video-portfolio. His dream was to study filmmaking, particularly in the United States. And when—thanks to his talent, hard work and perseverance—Medet won a scholarship from the non-commercial organization “Saby Charitable Foundation,” he immediately chose the New York Film Academy.

“Before I started my education at New York Film Academy I had already shot many music videos and commercials, but I never made a real movie. At NYFA I learned how to make films and work in a team, which is very important. On the first week of the program we were given film equipment and immediately began shooting our first project.”

“Q-eлi” is Medet Shayakhmetov’s first big professional project for television. The practical on-set experience gained at New York Film Academy helped him to accept the offer to direct this project without any doubts. He already knew what the responsibilities of each crew position were and felt confident to plan and manage a full size cast and crew with more than 50 extras.

“The knowledge I received from the Acting for Filmmakers course was very useful,” recalls Medet. “NYFA instructor Salvatore Interlandi taught us how to hold casting sessions and how to get the best performance from an actor on set.

Medet is currently working on his thesis film and two new music videos. One is for the indie-pop band POMPEYA (post-production) and the second one is for the Chicago-based DJs FLOSSTRADAMUS (pre-production). After graduating from the New York Film Academy, Medet Shayakhmetov is planning to go back to his home country. He believes the film industry in Kazakhstan has a bright future and he hopes his contribution of the knowledge he gained at NYFA will help the industry to gain recognition on a global level.

Actor Paulo Costanzo Visits NYFA Battery Place

Having grown up with the desire to direct films, especially after first seeing Trainspotting, Paulo Costanzo first broke into the business through acting. His biggest break came about after an open audition in Canada got the attention of Todd Phillips and Ivan Reitman for the comedy, Road Trip. Beating the odds with hard work, talent and a little bit of luck, Costanzo landed the role of Rubin Carver in Road Trip and never looked back. “Had I not prepared and been that confident, I wouldn’t have nailed the audition,” said Costanzo.

After Road Trip, Costanzo landed several acting roles in both film and television, including the TV series Joey and, most recently, Royal Pains. Having the opportunity to work on set for twenty years as an actor allowed Costanzo to watch and learn from directors on set. It was through that learning process and his long desire to direct that Costanzo would get the job to direct a few episodes of the USA hit show Royal Pains, in which he also plays Evan Lawson.

Last week, while speaking to acting and filmmaking students at the New York Film Academy, Costanzo dissected several scenes of Royal Pains that he directed and explained the thought process that went behind each. Moderated by NYFA Short-term Filmmaking Chair Jonathan Whittaker and Acting Chair Glynis Rigsby, Costanzo spoke in depth about the mentality of being confident and prepared, whether it be for an audition or directing a film or TV show.

royal pains nyfa — NYFA Short-term Chair Jonathan Whittaker, Acting Chair Glynis Rigsby and Paulo Costanzo

Costanzo says he can relate to our students in that he is currently in the process of transitioning to a career as a feature director, and so he feels like a beginner in the business. He’s in the middle of writing a dramatic comedy feature that he hopes to direct in the near future.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Mr. Costanzo for bringing us his refreshing sense of humor along with invaluable advice. We wish him the best of luck on developing his first feature film!

NYFA Grad Shoots Award-Winning Feature on $12k Budget

After graduating from New York Film Academy in 2001, Liam Le Guillou returned home and began working at a major broadcasting station in the UK, ITV. While there he trained as camera and editor technician, building on his training from NYFA. Having reached some success at the station, producing his first 30-minute program after only 3 years, Le Guillou decided to set up his own company; Spike Productions. At Spike he produced a number of documentaries as well as some award-wining corporate and commercial content. But his love of narrative filmmaking was still burning and in 2011 he returned to New York to work on his first feature film, Dutch Kills, as Director of Photography/Producer and Editor.

Dutch Kills was filmed on a nearly impossible $12,000 budget, with mostly a four person crew (two of which were the lead actors). Despite the small crew and budget, the film won Best Thriller Feature at the Manhattan Film Festival in 2014. Also, Dutch Kills is being distributed by Screen Media Films, and is available now on iTunes!

Recently, we had a chance to ask the filmmaker and former NYFA student about Dutch Kills and his career since graduating.

How did you get involved with Dutch Kills?

I got involved with Dutch Kills when I met the Director, Joseph Mazzella, at a networking party in NYC. He told me he was starting the project but was still in need of a cinematographer. After I met with Joe and the two writers (who were also both the lead actors, Tama Filing and R.L. Mann), I realized they had a pretty decent script but they also needed some more help in getting the project off the ground. So I came onboard as DP, but also as a producer — particularly to help with the technical aspects of putting a film together. And when we found that the previously assigned editor was unable to commit enough time to project, I also came on as editor of the film.

In your own words, what is this film about?

Dutch Kills is about two close friends who get back together after some time in jail and are forced into doing “one last job” by a crooked cop. But for me it’s really a story about the nature of trust and friendship and how that can change over time.

Was your NYFA education useful in terms of being able to produce / DP / edit a film like this?

So I completed an 8-week intensive filmmaking course in 2001 at NYFA in New York. It was an amazing experience for a young Brit, who had never been to New York before. What I loved about the course was it was very practical. We took out 16mm cameras and shot our first shorts the very first weekend of the course. Those skills, and the experience, landed me a job in the technical crew as a trainee position for one of the major TV stations in the UK, ITV, where I continued my camera and editing training for the next few years.

Liam Le Guillou with Director Joseph Mazzella

What advice would you give to other filmmakers working on such a tight budget?

Dutch Kills was almost an impossible task of completing a film on just $25,000 (we finished shooting on just $12K). It’s obviously a really difficult job and there are loads of tips and tricks we used to make it happen, and I should probably write a book on it! But a few of the key things were to have a core team, (we had four of us) who were passionate about the film and also equal owners of the project. We each had unique and complimentary skills, which were crucial in pulling together all of the cast, crew, locations and equipment to make it happen. In fact, production went incredibly smoothly but we did underestimate the amount of work and effort post-production would take. I think if you have little to no money, you have to have someone in the team who is a good editor and has the time to take on the project. In our case, I took on the the edit with most of the other team members in the edit with me—this saved a huge cost. But the negative side to that is you don’t have fresh eyes on it, so we ran 4 or 5 test screenings with friends and family which gave us a new insight to the film, and actually lead us to shooting three new scenes, including a new end scene—almost 12 months after principle photography!

Are you currently working on another project?

Since we completed Dutch Kills, I’ve DP’ed a second feature film, Painless, which is currently in post and I’ve been working on a number of documentary and short form projects, including a really fun travel/fashion piece called Style Out There, for Refinery29. The series has had over 2 million views, which is really exciting. Have a look at the piece below!

NYFA Student Veterans Shadow Animators at Dreamworks

Four New York Film Academy veterans from the Los Angeles campus were chosen to participate in a Veterans Shadowing Day at the Dreamworks Animation Studio campus on December 2 in honor of Veterans Day.

The program, created by Dreamworks HR VP Tim Norman (he himself an army veteran) — alongside Veterans in Film and Television, and LA faculty member Suzanne Kent — was a unique opportunity for the selected NYFA students to be paired with top animation creators for a day of shadowing, hands on-experience and immersion in their respective fields.

Participants from Dreamworks included an animation modeler, a CGI Supervisor, and a Motion Capture director.

Those attending from NYFA were Brian Melo, Chris Cardoza, Kenesha Bolton and Kunanon Soothinpong.

The program was successful for everyone involved and it is the hope that this project can be continued on an annual basis.

Screen and Theatre Legend Tony LoBianco Inspires Confidence in Acting Students

A proud Brooklynite, actor Tony LoBianco captured a full crowd of New York Film Academy acting students from the moment he stood in front of them until the standing ovation at the end—and even afterwards in a long line that formed to meet the brilliant and humble, motivational speaker. The career of actor Tony LoBianco is distinguished as much by its depth and variety, as by the skills and gifts Mr. Lo Bianco has brought to his work. Over the past 61 years, he has appeared in numerous films, television programs, and stage performances, both on-screen and off as a writer, director, and producer. Throughout his career, Mr. Lo Bianco has collaborated with many of the brightest creative minds in the performing arts, both past and present.

Perhaps most known for his performance as Sal Boca in the five-time Academy Award winning film The French Connection with Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, LoBianco starred in the cult classic The Honeymoon Killers; The Seven-Ups with Roy Scheider; starred with Richard Gere and Paul Sorvino in Bloodbrothers; City Heat with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds; Director Oliver Stone’s Nixon with the great Anthony Hopkins; The Juror with Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore; F.I.S.T. with Sylvester Stallone and Rod Steiger; Boiling Point with Wesley Snipes and Dennis Hopper; the cult classic God Told Me To; and Kill the Irishman with Val Kilmer, Vincent D’onofrio, and Christopher Walken; and La Romana with Gina Lollabrigida.

On stage, Mr. Lo Bianco won an Obie Award for Best Actor in Jonathan Reynold’s Yanks-3, Detroit-0, Top of the 7^th. Following his memorable performance as Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge on Broadway, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award. He also won a New York Area Television Academy Award and daytime Emmy for Hizzoner! The Life of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.

On television, Mr. Lo Bianco starred as Rocky Marciano, the only undefeated heavy weight champ of the world, in Marciano. He appeared in the mini-series Marco Polo and Jesus of Nazareth directed by the great Franco Zeffirelli. He also starred in The Last Tenant with legendary acting teacher Lee Strasberg. He has appeared over the years in several Law & Order episodes; Police Story; Jessie with Lindsay Wagner; Another Woman’s Child with Linda Lavin; among many others. As a director, Mr. Lo Bianco directed several episodes of television, including Police Story; The Duke; Cliffhangers; When the Whistle Blows; Kaz; and the feature film Too Scared to Scream.

In 1963, Mr. Lo Bianco co-founded the Triangle Theater in New York City and served as artistic director for six years, during which time lighting designer Jules Fisher, playwright Jason Miller, and actor Roy Scheider, passed through its doors. Mr. Lo Bianco himself directed eight productions and produced twenty-five others.

His long-lasting and successful career sprang from a confident, street-fighting man in Brooklyn, who caught the attention of his teacher and eventually his entire neighborhood by winning a monologue contest. It would be from that point on that LoBianco’s confidence would have him booking audition after audition. He stresses, “Take courage. Be sure of yourself.”

tony lobianco — Tony LoBianco with NYFA Acting for Film Chair Glynis Rigsby

While admitting this is “the most difficult business to get into,” LoBianco says, “actors must be strong enough to understand rejection. All the mistakes that you make are just part of the education.”

He insists that actors and people in general find their foundation—find out who you are. From that point, you will exude confidence and others will respond in a positive way. “Always dare yourself to be wrong.”

Above it all, the humbling LoBianco understands and preaches that we’re all human beings and should treat each other with respect. It is a privilege to be an actor and, in no way, does it give the right to be rude or conceited. Always be chivalrous toward those around, and never take your gift for granted.

It was truly an honor to watch Mr. LoBianco speak with such passion and sincerity. His wisdom and insight made for a truly remarkable evening and we can’t thank him enough.

NYFA Seeds in Abu Dhabi Blossom at Dubai International Film Festival

The New York Film Academy’s Emirati students have reached the highest number of films accepted into the prestigious Dubai International Film Festival 2015.

More than 10 as crew members with 5 directors and actors had their 5 films into the official selection MUHR EMIRATI this year.

All of them have completed their study at the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi and had the opportunity to learn in the most hands-on program in the world, with the great faculty coming from Los Angeles and New York carrying an international experience in the film industry.

We encourage you all to attend and watch their films at the festival. The films’ briefs are below:

ZINZANA – Feature film directed by Majid Al Ansari: Trapped in a prison cell (“Zinzana”) in a remote police station, a man named Talal is tortured by visions of his beloved ex-wife and son as he waits to hear his fate. When officer Daban from a neighboring town stops by, Talal watches as the friendly visit suddenly turns into a bloodbath. Being behind bars is now the least of Talal’s problems, as he is forced to play a madman’s game to save his family’s lives.

ABDULLAH – Feature film directed by Humaid Al Suwaidi, Cast: Fatima AlTae: The film tells the story of an Emirati boy (Abdullah) who develops a fascination with music from an early age but struggles to hide that over the years from his very conservative family where many things are “haram.”

GOING TO HEAVEN – Feature film directed by Saeed Salmeen: From Abu Dhabi to Fujairah, young Sultan sets off on an extraordinary journey as he seeks out his grandmother. Sultan, who has dreamt of the warmth of her love, is determined to reunite with an absent grandmother so that he can escape the bitterness of life. Accompanied by his friend, Sultan’s trip will unravel surprises and exuberant emotions.

BESHKARA – Directed by Abdulrahman Al Madani, thesis film: telling a story of the caretaker of a cantankerous, dependent Emirati grandmother must return to the Philippines, once she finds out that her daughter is terminally ill. However, the grandmother refuses to let her travel because a deep reason we discover at the end of the film.

THE MAN WHO MET THE ANGEL – Directed by Tariq Al Kazim, Cast: Assem Kroma: Between reality and imagination, truth and lies, certainty and delusion, Daniel will have to prove to others that he has met an angel.

We wish them best of luck in the competition, and hope you will have the opportunity to watching them all!

Former Summer Camp Student Eve Hewson Returns to NYFA to Screen ‘The Knick’

There’s nothing that makes the New York Film Academy family happier than welcoming back a former student who has gone on to major success. Thus far in her young career, former summer camp student Eve Hewson has had the privilege of working with some of the finest actors and filmmakers including the late James Gandolfini, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Sean Penn.

glynis and eve — Acting for Film Chair Glynis Rigsby with Eve Hewson

This Wednesday evening, December 3rd at New York Film Academy’s Battery Park location, Hewson returned to screen The Knick, in which she plays Lucy Elkins. Directed by Stephen Soderbergh and starring Clive Owen, the Cinemax series provides us with a look at the professional and personal lives of the staff at New York’s Knickerbocker Hospital during the early part of the twentieth century. Based on Hewson’s conversation with NYFA Acting Chair Glynis Rigsby, working with Soderbergh is both challenging and awarding. Often times he will only give his cast one take, so each actor must be extremely well prepared. Unlike other episodic shows, Soderbergh directs, D.P’s and edits every show. He’s very hands-on, to say the least. At the end of the day she says, “I trust Stephen so much. I love working with him.”

Hewson is a strong believer in jumping right into the audition process. She recalls going to auditions and bombing, even before and after her formal training at NYFA and other acting schools. “Try to do as much preparation as you can, so they’ll [casting directors] really like you. And try not to worry,” said Hewson.

She also recommends students tape themselves, even on their iPhones. Hewson landed many of her major roles through audition tapes, but it didn’t come easily. She says she often tapes herself doing monologues or acting out scenes, then dissects each and everyone of them to look for flaws or areas of potential improvement.

“I remember one teacher told me, when I was here at NYFA summer camp,” Hewson recalls. “She said ‘Be as rebellious as you want with your acting’. If someone tells you this is how you do it and it doesn’t work for you, say that doesn’t work for me. I don’t think that anyone has a set process. You have to find what works for you and what makes you excited because sometimes if you’re in this school—which I’ve been in and other acting schools—you can feel like if I don’t do what my teacher tells me to do, it becomes a labor. So, do the work that makes you feel confident because there are no rules.”

And last but not least, she believes its best to go into auditions without the sides—memorize the lines!

Thanks so much to Eve Hewson for coming back to NYFA and speaking to our acting students. As always it’s a proud moment to reconnect with our blossoming young talent.

NYFA Soccer Team Wins Championship

The New York Film Academy soccer team made history Sunday after winning the championship game, 3-2 against Cobra Kai.

This was the first championship game for our (11v11) soccer team and member year as we etch our name across the Los Angeles Municipal Soccer League.

Soccer coach Gabriel Penaloza’s influence, momentous discipline and his teaching of a “can do” attitude, lead the players to this eventful season. Our players have adapted and carried the spirit of the New York Film Academy to higher level on and off the field.

The New York Film Academy soccer team is now highly motivated to compete in the higher division next year. “This is a phenomenal achievement for our team, the school and I’m really eager to see what the future holds. I’m sure we will claim victory again and continue to do our best to represent our school,” said Adam El-Manawy, Athletic Coordinator and current player.

All 22 players on the roster were part of this success. A special thanks to the “veterans” players who believed in this team since its creation in 2012. The team and the program as a whole wouldn’t be at this level today without them.

NYFA Grad Sells First Feature and Signs with WME

Can Evrenol graduated from New York Film Academy Los Angeles 8-week filmmaking workshop in the summer of 2006. It was in that program that Evrenol was able to put together his very first short film, which ended up winning a few prestigious awards in Istanbul, Turkey and other festivals in Europe. It was at that point that Evrenol knew he would be a career filmmaker.

“I loved NYFA. It was very useful,” said Evrenol. “It was the only practical education I got before launching myself to produce and direct my own independent short films.”

Now, almost ten years later, Evrenol wrote, shot and produced his first feature film, Baskin, and sold it to IFC Midnight (including a limited theatrical release). It is the first ever Turkish genre film to be released in the United States and one of only a handful of Turkish films ever to be released in the States.

The film starts out as a normal night on patrol for five cops and ends up as Evrenol puts it, “Five cops go to Hell.”

The Istanbul native continues to build on his success, having recently signed with powerhouse talent agency WME. Evrenol and his team are gearing up to shoot a second feature film.