New York Film Academy instructor, Geoffray Barbier is directing a music concert series sponsored by Absolut Vodka. Shot in high definition, ENCORE! streams live music sessions featuring the very best at le Baron Chinatown in New York City. For those of you not hip on the scene, the Chinatown outpost, Le Baron of Andre Saraiva’s famed Paris’ “boite” is serving as a creative platform for talents to showcase themselves in a unique way. The successful online series is in its second season and episodes are recorded twice a month. Be sure to check out the most recent episode, featuring the popular band Wild Belle!
Most, if not all of New York Film Academy‘s instructors are industry professionals outside of the classroom. Such is the case for Miguel Parga, whose first novel Blood Laws was just published by Anaphora Literary Press. The story revolves around Alex Torken, a young writer who wakes up to discover his thoughts of death are becoming reality – which happens to be quite a dilemma for a thriller writer. Alex finds himself in the middle of a feud that’s been raging for the better part of a millennium. While digging for answers, Alex will learn he is a direct descendant of a member of the Spanish Inquisition and the nightmares are revenge for the atrocities committed by his ancestor five centuries ago. Now he must face a modern covenant of witches bent on manipulating his mind into a grave, while questioning everything, his past, his calling, even the origin of his own inspiration.
“This novel, Blood Laws, came out of curiosity about my own Puerto Rican roots and a desire to explore the origins of artistic creation,” said Parga. “In the book a character discovers that his own writing is only genetic memory, passed on to him by his ancestors.”
Miguel has been in the business for about 17 years, having worked for ABC News in New York and directing commercials in Los Angeles for five years. His work has awarded him an Emmy, a Peabody and a Dupont Award. In the five years as an instructor at the New York Film Academy, Miguel has directed 14 final films in the Acting for Film program.
Miguel already has another manuscript in the works. It’s a fiction novel based on his experiences covering the tragedies of 9/11. Apart from his novel work, he’s also hoping to shoot his first original feature length script next summer. Not only that, he’s also working on a pilot with a producer in Ecuador. “It’ll be in Spanish and dealing with the drug cartels as independent kingdoms – kind of Game of Thrones in the drug world.”
Director/producer Timur Bekmambetov, who has been called “the Russian Steven Spielberg,” recently visited students at New York Film Academy, following a screening of his film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Born in present-day Kazakhstan, Bekmambetov made his mark with Hollywood studios and U.S. audiences with Night Watch, one of the highest-grossing Russian films of all time.
He made his Hollywood directorial debut with 2008’s Wanted, an action blockbuster starring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. Of his stars, he said, “Morgan is very simple to work with, and always jokes around on set. Angelina is very different. She is very serious, very focused. She’s a genius. She’s very powerful. You have to surround yourself with actors you trust.”
Following the success of Wanted, Timur Bekmambetov teamed up with producers Tim Burton and Jim Lemley for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. When asked how he decided to take on a film based on a vampire/action/historical/period piece novel, Bekmambetov said, “It’s a challenge. It’s important to fall in love with the material. You need to be brave and forget about the rules. There’s no way to [know] how the audience will respond.” The audience responded well, with the film bringing in over $114 million worldwide. Bekmambetov is currently hard at work on preproduction for Wanted 2.
Timur is also at work on a startup related to the film, and we are proud that he chose NYFA students to work with him on developing it further.
Actress and Associate Director of Admissions Celina Polanco recently returned from the second national tour ofIn the Heights. The musical is known for its acclaimed run on Broadway from 2008-2011, winning four Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Celina spent 10 months on the road, traveling from Pennsylvania to California, and everywhere in between. “I fought a long time for this role and experience, and I feel that in some ways, living on a bus for a year was not the dream I would have imagined, but it’s the one I was waiting for,” she says.
Celina explained that she started auditioning for the show while working for New York Film Academy, before the show opened off-Broadway. “I had 19 callbacks throughout the process. I was working in admissions in New York for a couple years,” she says. “After 16 callbacks, the next day NYFA offered me a transfer to the Los Angeles campus. I lived near Broadway, and didn’t want to walk past that marquee every day. So I chose a different path and moved to Los Angeles.”
But after a year of working at New York Film Academy’s LA campus, the wait was over. Celina booked her dream role as Camila Rosario, one of the mother figures in In the Heights. She explains, “There are multi-generational stories. It’s about the families we make, are born with, and create. It’s about home and family and finding where you belong. I was raised by crazy-strong women and they were able to see the show. It was an amazing opportunity for me to be able to pay tribute to them.”
She’s no stranger to travel, often traveling the world auditioning actors for NYFAopen houses. “New York Film Academy has schools all over the world. We have something for everyone,” she says. “It’s all about trying to figure out what fits into their life, budget, and world. I have a soft spot for auditioning musical theater students, because that is my background; I got my degree in Musical Theatre. I think if you give someone direction and lead someone to experiencing an authentic moment, they will never forget it.”
Time will tell what the future holds for Celina. “I try to not be too attached to any one dream, but I know the direction I’m going in includes everything that I love: time with friends and family, growing into a position with NYFA, and pursuing goals for TV, film, and stage. I’m not the type of person who is going to turn down an opportunity. The future holds amazing things.”
After a nationwide talent search of India, by Casting Director Avy Kaufman, Vibish Sivakumar scored an opportunity of a lifetime meeting Oscar winning director Ang Lee for a role in the film, Life of Pi. Prior to landing the role, Vibish was studying Telecommunication Engineering, but his curiosity led him to acting. “I had to audition for about 5 or 6 months before I got to meet with Ang Lee. It was a long journey to land a role in Pi, but absolutely worth it at the end.”
While filming Life of Pi, Vibish took up the 8 Week Acting for Film Workshop at the New York Film Academy for proper training. “I have a friend who lives in New York and he really recommended attending NYFA over the other acting schools in New York. My experience at NYFA was delightful. I got to interact with fellow actors from different parts of the world, and they brought a lot to the table in their own ways and methods. But what I would really take away from my experience there was my interaction with the faculty. I had an incredible batch of teachers: Peter Stone, Anna Cianciulli, Tina Benko, Miguel Parga, Katie and John. I truly learned a lot from them. My stint at NYFA reaffirmed my choice of becoming an actor.”
Vibish plays the role of 18 year old Ravi Patel in what looks to be another Oscar contender for Ang Lee. “Working with Ang Lee is something you cannot describe in a paragraph. There’s a reason why he is one of the best directors in the world and it’s evident right from when you first meet him. He is an incredible human being and a wonderful filmmaker. The biggest thing I learned from him was humility and staying true to your craft and story.”
Vibish added that right now is the hardest part of his career thus far, finding the right agent.
The New York Film Academy Photography School was honored to host a guest lecture by industry figure Ivan Shaw, long-time photography director at US Vogue magazine. Mr. Shaw shared the story of his own surprising career path, anecdotes about working with some of the greatest photographers in the fashion world, and urged students to find and stay true to their own creative voice.
“Among his many invaluable tips, what created the most vivid impression was Mr. Shaw’s admonition to ‘live or die by your work,’” states Brian Dilg, chair of the photography program. “He repeatedly urged students to develop a unique approach that they hadn’t seen done already, cautioned against the temptation to imitate even one’s greatest heroes, and to stick by an individual method and style even if you have never seen it published anywhere yet.”
In addition to delivering a presentation and answering questions from students, Mr. Shaw also generously met with a small group of selected alumni to review individual portfolios and provide in-depth, personal feedback and career advice.
“It was a truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet someone at the top of the photography field in an intimate setting,” stated Dilg. “We are very grateful to Mr. Shaw for his exceptionally generous willingness to give back to the photography community, as well as his interest in discovering new talent and producing consistently stunning work in the pages of Vogue.”
Producer Donald De Line recently visited students at New York Film Academy as part of the ongoing guest speaker series, following a screening of The Green Lantern. De Line served as President and Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures, before moving on to Touchstone Pictures. During his tenure as President of Touchstone, he oversaw films including Pretty Woman, Father of the Bride, Ransom, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Rushmore, Ed Wood, and the worldwide blockbuster, Armageddon.
“My thing was always just to work hard, stay in my office, and keep my head down,” says De Line. “Jeffrey Katzenberg always said that you have to be like a race horse with blinders on. You have to look straight ahead and know what you’re looking for.”
De Line did just that, and scored his first major hit as a solo producer with The Italian Job, starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and Edward Norton. He also produced Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies, and John Hamburg’s I Love You Man.
“Always be studying,” he said to the theater of New York Film Academy students. “Always be working in whatever form you can. Keep your instrument going. And then learn everything that you can about the business. Stay educated. Know what movies are being made around town. Read the trades. Read every script you can get your hands on.”
Coming off the premiere of Lifeless at the Big Apple Film Festival, the Musical Theatre department at the New York Film Academy has announced its latest original movie musical short film, Gingerbread House. The musical film will be directed by VP Boyle and feature an original score with lyrics by Rob Rokicki.
Originally from Colorado, Rob is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan and is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Actor’s Equity, and alum of the Tony award winning BMI Musical Theatre Workshop. As an actor, Rob was featured in the Evita 25th Anniversary Tour directed by Hal Prince & Larry Fuller. His musical, Love, NY (co-written with Mike Ruby) won the 2009 American Harmony Award and was presented at New World Stages. His latest album, I’m Ready: The Songs of Rob Rokicki is available on iTunes and Amazon.
Committed to showcasing diverse artistic expression, Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) presents CABULA6, an internationally acclaimed performance and film company known for its unique hybrid approach to choreography. CABULA6 will present the US premiere of The Angola Project, a three-part series that includes the world premiere of the trilogy’s final chapter, XIN– Heart of the Matter. The Angola Project masterfully combines the worlds of performance and filmmaking by taking audience members on a very personal journey of the co-artistic directors’ real-life attempts to finance a film and confront the fear of mortality. Performances are November 7-10 (Parts 1 and 2) and 14-17 (Part 3). All shows are at 7:30 p.m., with one additional performance of Part 3 on November 17 at 3:00 p.m.
Created by New York Film Academy Documentary Professor, Jeremy Xido, Claudia Heu, and Igor Dobricic, the trilogy begins with Xido’s captivation of Lisbon’s sunset-timed gas lamps and growing idea for a film (Part 1: Lisbon); he finds himself collecting historical tidbits, experiencing random encounters and conducting a slew of interviews with the people he meets there. Part 2: Angola, delves deeper into Xido’s quest to construct a film script as he travels to Angola along the Benguela Railway. Xido—the sole onstage performer in this entire series—must carefully navigate the minefield of international film financing, constantly reconfiguring his script and feature film pitch accordingly.
Parts 1 and 2 premiered at the Impulstanz Festival in Vienna in 2010, earning acclaim for the creators’ ability to seamlessly blend verbal narration, image and video to create thrilling and novel choreography. The world premiere of Part 3: XIN – Heart of the Matter, is a work-in-progress of the creators’ experiment to produce a disastrous failure, with the hope of discovering something true and valuable among the ruins. Part 3 further investigates the convoluted nature of storytelling, global travel, colonial history and shifting notions of home in today’s age of poly-cultural, mash-up identities. Film footage, spoken lecture, spatial manipulation and use of elements will continue CABULA6’s truly innovative and hybrid approach to choreography.
“DNA encourages our performing artists to delve deeply into different creative mediums to convey their work most effectively,” says Artistic and Executive Director Catherine Peila. “DNA’s artistic vision not only supports that ideology but also makes it a reality for the artists we present, commission and train. Dance represents our visceral need to engage. Today we find more dance artists looking to create even greater connections through hybrid forms. CABULA6’s The Angola Project represents conceptual and performative innovations of the movement artist’s exploration and their on-going attempt to fully engage us in their process.”
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