On Tuesday, June 23, 2020, New York Film Academy (NYFA) had the pleasure of hosting a live video Q&A with the talented documentarian Tânia Cypriano to discuss her much admired and trailblazing documentary film Born to Be. Cypriano was also joined in conversation by NYFA Acting for Film Conservatory student, and consultant for the film, Jude Washock. Tova Laiter, Director of the NYFA Q&A Series, moderated the event.

Director Tânia Cypriano has been working between her home country of Brazil and the United States for over thirty years. Her films and videos have won international awards including ‘Best Documentary’ at Joseph Papp’s Festival Latino in New York, the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, and Fespaco in Burkina Faso. Her work has been shown in the world’s most prestigious institutions including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Hong Kong Arts Center, the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival.

Her television credits include documentaries for PBS, the History Channel, NHK in Japan, GNT in Brazil and Channel 4 in England. Cypriano has co-organized a series of films with the MoMA, the Anthology Film Archives, Exit Art, the Museum of Image and Sound in São Paulo, and the Grazer Kunstverein in Austria. She has also previously worked on productions for Bill Moyers, Martin Scorsese, Kent Jones and Nelson Pereira dos Santos.

Cypriano’s latest documentary, Born to Be, follows the work of Dr. Jess Ting at the groundbreaking Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City —where, for the first time ever, all transgender and non-binary people can have access to quality transition-related health and surgical care. The film received critical acclaim upon its original release in the 2019 festival circuit and was hailed by Variety as “a lively and moving documentary,” and “a film that distinguishes itself with a sensitive, human portrait” by Hollywood Reporter.

Following a screening of the film’s trailer, Laiter opened up the Q&A by commenting on how the film packs a punch with the emotional impact of all the character storylines, and remarks how well the film weaves in educational opportunities for the viewer regarding the transgender community.

Cypriano remembers wanting to make this documentary after hearing about the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York from her producer, noting it was “a historical moment for New York City, and also for healthcare.” After deciding she wanted to do this documentary, Cypriano recalls staying in the clinic and documenting the surgeries with the crew, noting how many of the characters in the film “understood the importance of that moment [of filming] because these surgeries were just made available, and the importance of them was so great to the [transgender] community.”

Washock, a SAG-AFTRA member and NYFA student who served as a consultant for the film, explained that his role was “to ensure that the stories being told by the characters, who were receiving surgery, were portrayed in a humane way and were not damaging or exploitive.” Consultants like Washock are especially important for documentary filmmakers so they can ensure they do the subject matter, and story, justice.

For such a delicate, progressive, and emotional topic, one student asked how Cypriano was able to compose herself during the documentary shoot. “It was a tough one,” she recalls, “I think that is why I chose to live outside of my family because it was emotionally draining, but nothing compares to what I imagine Dr. Ting goes through because he is over there listening to those stories everyday.”

In addition to discussing the film, Cypriano also encouraged NYFA students to tell stories because they can. “You have to put yourself out there, work hard, be patient, and persevere. If you hang in there, you can do it.” Washock, who got involved in the project just by talking to Cypriano at an event added, “put yourself out there and have conversations with people and just talk, you would be surprised.”

Washock also encouraged students in the New York City area to look into volunteering or becoming a member at IFP (Independent Filmmakers Project), where Washock praised his experience there networking and attending informative panels.

Cypriano thanked Laiter and the NYFA students for joining the call and also extended gratitude to NYFA student Jude Washock for joining the conversation.

New York Film Academy would like to thank the talented Tânia Cypriano for sharing her time and expertise with the students and NYFA Acting for Film student Jude Washock for sharing his experience as a consultant on Born to Be. NYFA also encourages everyone to keep an eye out for the forthcoming theatrical and streaming release of the film.



These guests are not faculty and do not teach at NYFA, but they have appeared to share their stories and experience with our students. As guest speakers are scheduled based on their availability, NYFA cannot guarantee whether a guest speaker will visit during a student’s attendance or who that guest speaker may be. This guest speaker forum is not part of any NYFA curriculum and attendance at guest speaker events is purely voluntary. Students should be aware that guest speaker events do not represent a job opportunity nor are they intended to provide industry connections.

On Wednesday, June 17, New York Film Academy (NYFA) had the pleasure of hosting director and Vice President of the Director’s Guild of America (DGA), LAURA BELSEY, as part of The 20/20 Series, created by NYFA’s Creative Director of Filmmaking and Cinematography, Liz Hinlein. The conversation was moderated by Hinlein and was held virtually, allowing individuals to join NYFA and the special guests from all over the world.

The 20/20 Series, created by Hinlein, is a virtual pop-up event that takes us into the homes, hubs, and workspaces of an array of dynamic creative visionaries to allow for relaxed, engaging conversations on craft, creation and artistic vision.

Laura Belsey is a commercial, film and television director, who has directed several short films, the documentary Katrina’s Children and numerous television episodes for shows including The Walking Dead, Bosch, Genius: Picasso, Preacher, New Amsterdam, Arrow, The Flash, Animal Kingdom, Queen of the South, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, and many others.

Belsey has been a member of the Directors Guild of America’s National Board since 2007 and serves as the Fourth Vice President for the DGA. She has helmed hundreds of commercials and won numerous international awards, including a Cannes Gold Lion.

Hinlein kicked off the conversation by asking her about her infamous “oner shot” or a long take that she uses in shows like Preacher. Belsey, who admits that she is constantly thinking about the editing process while shooting, shares, “every cut has to have a reason and a ‘oner’ is like you are editing with the camera, so you are committing to an editing pattern that cannot be broken.”

The “oner” take seems to happen almost always organically according to Belsey. “In television, we have to work so fast. Sometimes you have seven days to prep an episode, so you don’t have too much time to mull things over and you have to commit to things on day one.” For Belsey, a “oner” can come to her as soon as she reads a script and gets that “gut feeling.”

Trained in the martial arts and known for tackling shows with action and violence like Arrow, The Flash, and The Walking Dead, Belsey shares that there is “never a one size fits all for action.” She reveals that prepping for an action sequence requires a lot of your own planning in your head with the stunts and editing.

“For me, I always begin an action sequence by asking myself ‘what is the story’ and ‘what does this mean emotionally for the characters,’ and that informs how I shoot the action.” Belsey, who is no stranger to directing violent scenes, notes that it’s all about creating visceral emotions, and “the process of creating action is really fun.”

“Not all violence is honorable,” she reminds the audience. For shows like The Walking Dead, however, it is actually an integral part of the storyline because “it is about survival and how evil is born, and how that evil is something worth examining.”

When it was time for questions from the audience, one audience member asked Belsey to elaborate on her philosophy as a filmmaker. “I believe in story, metaphor, and flow,” she says. “It’s about asking ‘what do I want the audience to feel,’ and to create and guide emotions through a story.”

As for working with other crew members like the director of photography (DP), Belsey exclaims how fun it is to work alongside other creatives and to speak their language of the craft. “That’s the fun part of this business. We are all grownups playing make-believe.”

New York Film Academy would like to thank Laura Belsey for taking the time to speak with the NYFA global community on her career as a director and for insight into the world of directing television and action for The 20/20 Series, created by and moderated by Liz Hinlein.

To watch the full conversation, view the video below or watch on our Youtube channel.

These guests are not faculty and do not teach at NYFA, but they have appeared to share their stories and experience with our students. As guest speakers are scheduled based on their availability, NYFA cannot guarantee whether a guest speaker will visit during a student’s attendance or who that guest speaker may be. This guest speaker forum is not part of any NYFA curriculum and attendance at guest speaker events is purely voluntary. Students should be aware that guest speaker events do not represent a job opportunity nor are they intended to provide industry connections.