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NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY CINEMATOGRAPHY ALUM SHOOTS AWKWAFINA’S AWARD-WINNING FILM ‘THE FAREWELL’

The Farewell, the multiple award-winning drama-comedy film starring Awkwafina, was shot by director of photography and New York Film Academy Cinematography alum Anna Franquesa-Solano, with BFA Filmmaking alum Qianying Zhou working as 1st Assistant Camera.

Both Solano and Zhou started their journeys from outside the United States. Solano originally hails from Spain and attended the 1-Year Cinematography conservatory at NYFA’s New York campus in 2010. Zhou, who enrolled in the 1-Year Filmmaking conservatory at NYFA’s New York campus in 2010 before continuing her studies in the BFA Filmmaking program at NYFA-Los Angeles, is from China.

Caption: NYFA Alumni Qianying Zhou & Anna Franquesa-Solano.

“I believe in order to grow, you have to step out of your comfort zone,” Franquesa-Solano tells NYFA. “My first big leap was moving to New York without even speaking English in order to study cinematography. A few years later I challenged myself again by shooting The Farewell, a demanding project that came with a lot of responsibility. These two have been so far some of the most important decisions of my career.”

These decisions have paid off, both for Franquesa-Solano and for the film they beautifully-shot. The Farewell became a Grand Jury Prize nominee at Sundance before earning numerous nominations and awards, including nominations for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards and, most recently, winning top prize at the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Feature.

The Farewell tells the story of a Chinese family who decide not to tell their grandmother she is dying, scheduling a wedding to bring the family together before she dies. The film was written and directed by Lulu Wang and stars Awkwafina, the Queens-born rapper, comedian, producer, writer, and actress who has steadily risen in fame since appearing in films like Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. Her dramatic talent in the film earned her a Golden Globe win for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and also earned her nominations for other awards, as well.

New York Film Academy congratulates 1-Year Cinematography alum Anna Franquesa-Solano and BFA Filmmaking alum Qianying Zhou on the success of The Farewell and looks forward to following their blossoming careers!

Please note: NYFA does not represent that these are typical or guaranteed career outcomes. The success of our graduates in any chosen professional pathway depends on multiple factors, and the achievements of NYFA alumni are the result of their hard work, perseverance, talent and circumstances.

NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY (NYFA) 3D ANIMATION & VFX ALUM DANIELA LOBO DIAS WORKS ON ‘SONIC THE HEDGEHOG’

New York Film Academy (NYFA) 3D Animation & VFX alum Daniela Lobo Dias has been doing animation work on some of Hollywood’s biggest movies since graduating NYFA in 2015, including the hotly-anticipated Sonic the Hedgehog movie.

Lobo Dias first attended New York Film Academy in 2014, enrolling in the 4-Week 3D Animation & VFX workshop at our New York campus. She later advanced her studies later that fall in NYFA’s 1-Year 3D Animation & VFX conservatory.

“Daniela was a spectacular student whilst enrolled in NYFA,” says NYFA Animation and VFX faculty Robert Appleton, “where she—along with three other outstanding female students—created an incredible final project.”

After graduating, Lobo Dias interned at a top animation company in New York before relocating to the West Coast and then Canada. She has worked on special effects-heavy films such as Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Venom, Ad Astra, Bumblebee, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, and recently, Cats.

Her latest film is Sonic the Hedgehog, a mix of live-action and animation that adapts the wildly popular Sega video game franchise about a snarky blue hedgehog that outruns the bad guys at lightning speed. The film stars Jim Carrey as Sonic’s live action nemesis Dr. Robotnik, with Ben Schwartz voicing a completely animated Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog is directed by Jeff Fowler and co-stars James Marsden, Adam Pally, and Tika Sumpter.

Lobo Dias worked as a layout artist on the film, with her primary tasks being blocking out CG elements (such as characters and environment assets) over the live action plate, creating projection camera setups to integrate live action plates into CG environments, and creating final camera animation with character blocking for full CG shots.



With Sonic coming out on Valentine’s Day, the animation had to be completed well before its theatrical release. In the interim, Lobo Dias worked on the upcoming Disney film Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt. She is currently working on the upcoming sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Her hard work at NYFA has certainly paid off.

“You get out of NYFA what you put in,” says Lobo Dias. “When you show up each day with enthusiasm and a readiness to listen and learn, you’re planting seeds with your teachers and classmates that blossom into a professional network.”

Lobo Dias is quick to express her gratitude for those who helped her along the way, however. “I am very grateful for my teachers at NYFA who not only taught me the skills I needed,” she adds, “but also nurtured my potential, and then gave me my first industry opportunities. A special shoutout to Rob, Boaz, Gavin, Tim, and Phoebe!”

New York Film Academy congratulates 3D Animation & VFX alum Daniela Lobo Dias on the release of Sonic the Hedgehog and looks forward to seeing the blockbusters she’ll be working on in the future!

Please note: NYFA does not represent that these are typical or guaranteed career outcomes. The success of our graduates in any chosen professional pathway depends on multiple factors, and the achievements of NYFA alumni are the result of their hard work, perseverance, talent and circumstances.

The Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at New York Film Academy (PCMT at NYFA) Debuts 2020 Winter New Works Series

This February, the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at New York Film Academy (PCMT at NYFA) performed two new plays as part of its New Works Series. The PCMT at NYFA New Works Series is held each winter and summer—this year’s 2020 Winter New Works Series is NYFA’s twelfth to date.

The two plays that debuted in the PCMT at NYFA 2020 Winter New Works Series were Wasp Woman and Victorian Courting & Zombies. Both shows are laugh-out-loud comedies with heart.

Wasp Woman is a musical with book and lyrics by Harris Doran and music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon, and is based on the Roger Corman cult classic of the same name. The outrageous, sci-fi comedy has a catchy, killer score and was directed by Harris Doran, a native New Yorker who was shortlisted for the Independent Spirit Awards “Someone To Watch” Award for his debut feature film Beauty Mark. Musical direction was by Daniel Lincoln; the alumni assistant was Luiza Francabandiera.

“I am incredibly inspired by the passion and talents of the students I am working with in the New Works Series,” says Harris. “It is a lot even for professionals to do this amount of work in such a small amount of time, and I have been blown away by the students’ professionalism and ability to step up to this challenge with such dedication, skill, and joy.” 

Wasp Woman tells the story of an aging model who discovers she is being removed as the face of her own cosmetics company now that she’s in her forties. She becomes the first test patient of a mysterious fountain of youth serum made from queen wasp extract, but fails to anticipate the stinging side effects. 

New Works Series Winter 2020

The second play of the series is period musical comedy Victorian Courting & Zombies, with a book by Susan Sassi and music and lyrics by Bryan Blaskie. The musical direction was by PCMT at NYFA music supervisor Anna Ebbesen and the alumni assistant is Rebecca Keenan. The play was directed by Travis Greisler, who recently served as associate director on The Cher Show on Broadway.

Set during the Elizabethan period, Victorian Courting & Zombies is about the hapless and ill-fated Funkbottom sisters, who will be left in a nunnery if they do not marry off Elizabeth to a wealthy suitor by the end of the evening, but no suitor can look past their facial defects, extra limbs, and minuscule dowry and appreciate them for their brains. Their luck may turn around when Mr. Blubberbutt, their ward, introduces them to Mr. Bingsley, an interesting fellow with a limp, a grunt, and an appetite for flesh.

“New Works at NYFA are such a fantastic opportunity for everyone on both sides of the table,” says Travis Greisler. “For the creatives, it’s a chance to dive into a process and see what your piece needs to hopefully reach its full potential—and for the students it’s a replica of the experience of a professional reading or workshop production. Together we dive into the whirlwind of learning new material and what our show hopes to become—and with the talent and diversity of NYFA’s program, every voice gets heard.”

‘Parasite’ Leads Record-Breaking Night at the 92nd Academy Awards

The 2020 Awards Season culminated with a groundbreaking Best Picture win for South Korean film Parasite at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday, February 9. The win for the critically-acclaimed film by Bong Joon Ho was the first time in Academy history that a foreign language film took home the top prize.

The film also won Best International Feature Film, as well as Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Bong, who shared the latter with Jin Won Han. The multiple wins for Bong follows years of critical acclaim for previous efforts including Snowpiercer and Okja.

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Broadcast Journalism alum Federica Polidoro was able to interview Bong Joon Ho right after last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where Parasite won the Palme d’Or. The interview was an Italian video exclusive and released on Il Sole 24 Ore.

Parasite wasn’t the only win for diversity at the Academy Awards. With Hair Love winning Best Animated Short, producer Karen Rupert Toliver became the first black woman to win an Oscar in an animation category. Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi was the first indigenous person to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and when he won, became the first person of Maori descent to win an Oscar.

Other notable news from this year’s ceremony includes the announcement of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which will open its door in December of this year. Netflix also celebrated on Sunday, with Laura Dern’s Oscar win giving the streaming giant its first Academy Award in any acting category. Dern won for Netflix’s Marriage Story, co-starring previous NYFA guest speaker Adam Driver.

At this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, the NYFA community celebrated a win as well, after seeing several alumni, faculty, and guest speakers involved with Oscar nominees across many categories. Toy Story 4, co-starring previous NYFA guest speaker Tony Hale, brought Pixar another trophy for Best Animated Feature.

New York Film Academy congratulates all the winners at this year’s Academy Awards, and looks forward to seeing even more international diversity included in the future!

Here is a full list of the 2020 Oscars nominees:

Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite – WINNER

Lead Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker – WINNER
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Lead Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renee Zellweger, Judy – WINNER

Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – WINNER

Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story – WINNER
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Director
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite – Winner

Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Dean DeBlois
I Lost My Body, Jeremy Clapin
Klaus, Sergio Pablos
Missing Link, Chris Butler
Toy Story 4,  Josh Cooley – WINNER

Animated Short
Dcera, Daria Kashcheeva
Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry – WINNER
Kitbull, Rosana Sullivan
Memorable, Bruno Collet
Sister, Siqi Song

Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman, Steven Zaillian
Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi – WINNER
Joker, Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Little Women, Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten

Original Screenplay
Knives Out, Rian Johnson
Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach
1917, Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino
Parasite, Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han – WINNER

Cinematography
The Irishman, Rodrigo Prieto
Joker, Lawrence Sher
The Lighthouse, Jarin Blaschke
1917, Roger Deakins – WINNER
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Robert Richardson

Best Documentary Feature
American Factory, Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar – WINNER
The Cave, Feras Fayyad
The Edge of Democracy, Petra Costa
For Sama, Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Best Documentary Short Subject
In the Absence, Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone, Carol Dysinger – WINNER
Life Overtakes Me, Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
St. Louis Superman, Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
Walk Run Cha-Cha, Laura Nix

Best Live Action Short Film
Brotherhood, Meryam Joobeur
Nefta Football Club, Yves Piat
The Neighbors’ Window, Marshall Curry – WINNER
Saria, Bryan Buckley
A Sister, Delphine Girard

Best International Feature Film
Corpus Christi, Jan Komasa
Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Les Miserables, Ladj Ly
Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodovar
Parasite, Bong Joon Ho – WINNER

Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari, Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland – WINNER
The Irishman, Thelma Schoonmaker
Jojo Rabbit, Tom Eagles
Joker, Jeff Groth
Parasite, Jinmo Yang

Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari, Don Sylvester – WINNER
Joker, Alan Robert Murray
1917, Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Wylie Stateman
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Matthew Wood, David Acord

Sound Mixing
Ad Astra
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917 – WINNER
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Production Design
The Irishman, Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
Jojo Rabbit, Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
1917, Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh – WINNER
Parasite, Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

Original Score
Joker, Hildur Guðnadóttir – WINNER
Little Women, Alexandre Desplat
Marriage Story, Randy Newman
1917, Thomas Newman
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, John Williams

Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman – WINNER
“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2
“Stand Up,” Harriet

Makeup and Hair
Bombshell – WINNER
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917

Costume Design
The Irishman, Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
Jojo Rabbit, Mayes C. Rubeo
Joker, Mark Bridges
Little Women, Jacqueline Durran – WINNER
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Arianne Phillips

Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
1917 – WINNER
The Lion King
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

bong joon ho oscars

Photo Arts Conservatory at New York Film Academy (PAC at NYFA) Showcases Work in Photo LA

This year, the Photo Arts Conservatory at New York Film Academy (PAC at NYFA) participated in Photo LA, the annual event that links local and global artists and thinkers by sharing work to create an encompassing photographic experience. Students, alumni, and faculty were able to showcase their work alongside galleries, artists, collectors, dealers, and publishers. 

Photo LA 2020

PAC at NYFA curated an exciting show representing the values, aesthetics, and the intellectual rigor of our students, alumni, and faculty. The work shows our strong commitment to facilitating an education that combines fine art and commercial skills with critical theory and contemporary issues. We are thrilled to be a community of global visual storytellers, made up of students and faculty from around the world. 

Additionally. PAC at NYFA also produced, hosted, and moderated three panels at FOCUS Photo LA. Our first panel featured photographer and NYFA faculty Lane Barden discussing his work in the MONUMENTality exhibition at the Getty. Frances Terpak, Curator of Photographs at the Getty Research Institute, joined the discussion, sharing her process of curating the show and the ideas behind it. Also there to deepen the conversation was Roberto Scheiberg, architect from the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, who was present and an active player in the funding and exhibiting of the Linear City project at Woodbury University’s gallery in Hollywood (Wuho). 

Our next panel was called Social Media Giants: Thoughts and Advice on Instagram, which featured Baz Here (NYFA MFA Photography student), Maddie Smith (BFA Photography student), and Alejandro Ibarra (MFA alum and NYFA instructor), who all have strong Instagram followings. Silvi Naci, artist, curator, and NYFA faculty, moderated the discussion exploring their use of Instagram as a platform, how they got their following, and what they saw the future of Instagram to be for photography. 

Photo LA 2020

Our last and totally sold out panel was a round table discussion called Photo Reps: The Inside Scoop on Intersectional Trends in Advertising. Artist reps and photo producers discussed their experiences in finding and representing diverse photographers and the roles women and people of color take in the making of commercial imagery. This panel featured Maren Levinson (RedEye), Jigisha Bouverat (BOUVERAT COLLECTIVE), Jen Lamping (Director of Photo Production at RPA), and Clarissa Garrett (Producer at 72andsunny), and was moderated by artist and PAC at NYFA faculty Amanda Rowan.

Artists from PAC at NYFA that exhibited at Photo LA included:

Changhao Song, BFA Alum
Eric Magana, BFA Student
Baz Here, MFA Student
Dia Yunzhi Wang, MFA Alum
Oluwasegun Oladele-Ajose, 1-Year Conservatory Alum
Suge Hou, BFA Student
Yilin Li, MFA Alum
Jon Henry, 1-Year Conservatory Alum and Faculty
Mengmeng Lu, BFA Alum and Faculty
Angel Alvarado, Digital Lab Coordinator
Amanda Rowan, Faculty
Andre Keichian, Faculty
Jackie Neale, Faculty
Lane Barden, Faculty
Naomi White, Chair

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New York Film Academy (NYFA) MFA Screenwriting Graduates Celebrate With Largest Industry Pitch Fest to Date

Graduating New York Film Academy (NYFA) MFA Screenwriting students attended their culminating Industry Pitch Fest Event, held as always at the beautiful penthouse ballroom of the Andaz Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, surrounded by astounding views of Los Angeles.

This semester’s event was particularly special because it was the largest the NYFA Screenwriting school has hosted to date, proving once again it is a favorite of industry professionals.

Pitch Fest 2020

A catered event and mingling opportunity for students, executives, and faculty alike, this capstone evening celebrates the New York Film Academy’s graduating MFA Screenwriting students, offering them a unique opportunity to jumpstart their professional development by pitching their Film and TV thesis projects to entertainment industry professionals.  A record number of industry professionals came out to celebrate and give invaluable input for the students to take away with them as they move into the exciting next stage of their careers.

The students’ dedication and passionate love for their work shined as they pitched their thesis projects, which they had been developing for nearly a year. Students left with new contacts, excitement about the scripts they’d worked so hard on, and a sense of what it’s like to meet with industry professionals.

Considered by the Academy to be their first official night as professional screenwriters, the hard work of this group of talented and creative students paid off as they pitched agents, managers, studios, and alternative media, TV, and film production company execs in a relaxed, roundtable environment.

Organized and hosted by Screenwriting faculty Jenni Powell and Adam Finer, the event featured representatives from Hollywood companies, including Monkeypaw Productions, Verve, Ventanarosa Productions, Energy Entertainment, Madison Wells Media, ICM, Lit Entertainment Group, Inclusion Management, Legacy Pictures, and nearly 20 other companies.

New York Film Academy gives a heartfelt thanks to all of its participants, particularly our industry guests, without whom this evening could not have been possible, and extends a big congratulations to all of our MFA Screenwriting graduates and wishes them all the best as they move forward in their professional journeys!

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Study Photography in Florence with New York Film Academy (NYFA)

Where better to study photography than in a city steeped with history, culture, and extraordinary light?

This May, New York Film Academy College of Visual & Performing Arts (NYFA) will be running its hands-on and intensive 1-Week and 4-Week Photography programs in Florence, Italy—the birthplace of the Renaissance and where our understanding of portraiture originally stems from. 

Florence photography violin

NYFA Florence itself is located in the perfect setting for a photo workshop. The facility is in the neighborhood of Santa Croce, whose curved streets are the remnants of an amphitheater built 2,000 years ago! It is just steps away from the Piazza Santa Croce, one of the city’s most prominent squares and historical landmarks. The square is home to the Basilica of Santa Croce, which features sixteen beautifully decorated chapels as well as the tombs of many illustrious Italian figures, including Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, and Enrico Fermi. 

Throughout the courses, students will explore the city of Florence, take day trips to surrounding towns, and visit museums and galleries to explore how photography in relation to classical and renaissance art. This is all while students are immersed in the art and craft of still photography, and are introduced to the tools necessary to capture great images and refine them through digital imaging.

The programs are open to all levels of experience. Those newer to the field will benefit from their more experienced peers, and those with more experience will not only learn new material but learn from sharing their knowledge.

While English is the language of instruction at all NYFA locations and in all coursework, we welcome students from all over the world, and have done so since the Academy’s inception in 1992. The NYFA environment offers a true international experience thanks to the richness of so many varied cultures converging together. US students will interact with local communities and citizens through the lenses of their cameras.

Florence Photography
Lisa Maria Valeskini, a student from Austria, took this photo during NYFA Florence’s 1-Week Digital Photo Program in May 2019

Please note that all students are required to bring with them to the photography workshops a digital camera with manual exposure control and a hard drive for image backup.

US college credits are available for these courses.*  

written by Hannah Gilliland, Study Abroad Admissions Associate

*Please note:  New York Film Academy makes no representation that credits awarded by NYFA will be accepted or applied toward the completion of any degree or certificate by any other postsecondary institution. The acceptance of transfer credits is always governed by the receiving school.

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Represented at 2020 Visual Effects Society Awards

New York Film Academy (NYFA) was well-represented at this year’s Visual Effects Society Awards, awarded by the Visual Effects Society (VES) entertainment industry’s only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos and games.

Visual Effects Society Awards

NYFA MFA Game Design alum Guillermo Quesada worked on the VR technology used for 2019’s The Lion King, which won the evening’s top honor for Outstanding Visual Effects, as well as awards for virtual cinematography and created digital environments.

NYFA 3D Animation & VFX alum Alexandra LoRusso worked on the Game of Thrones finale “The Iron Throne,” which won Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project and did effects animation for nominee Gemini Man.

NYFA 3D Animation & VFX alum Francesco Panzieri worked as a compositor on two nominees–Spider-Man: Far from Home and Terminator: Dark Fate. Both of these films were also worked on by NYFA 3D Animation & VFX instructor Nate Usiak.

His colleague, NYFA 3D Animation & VFX instructor Kelley Williams, did tech animation for Frozen 2, which earned multiple nominations and won Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature.

Craig Caton, the NYFA 3D Animation & VFX Chair, worked as an anim servo on nominees Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Jurassic World: The Ride; the latter won Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project while the former won Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project.

Here is a full list of this year’s Visual Effects Society Awards nominees and winners:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Richard Hollander
Kevin Sherwood
Eric Saindon
Richard Baneham
Bob Trevino

AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Dan DeLeeuw
Jen Underdahl
Russell Earl
Matt Aitken
Daniel Sudick

GEMINI MAN
Bill Westenhofer
Karen Murphy-Mundell
Guy Williams
Sheldon Stopsack
Mark Hawker

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Roger Guyett
Stacy Bissell
Patrick Tubach
Neal Scanlan
Dominic Tuohy

WINNER: THE LION KING
Robert Legato
Tom Peitzman
Adam Valdez
Andrew R. Jones

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

1917
Guillaume Rocheron
Sona Pak
Greg Butler
Vijay Selvam
Dominic Tuohy

FORD V FERRARI
Olivier Dumont
Kathy Siegel
Dave Morley
Malte Sarnes
Mark Byers

JOKER
Edwin Rivera
Brice Parker
Mathew Giampa
Bryan Godwin
Jeff Brink

THE AERONAUTS
Louis Morin
Annie Godin
Christian Kaestner
Ara Khanikian
Mike Dawson

WINNER: THE IRISHMAN
Pablo Helman
Mitchell Ferm
Jill Brooks
Leandro Estebecorena
Jeff Brink

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

FROZEN 2
Steve Goldberg
Peter Del Vecho
Mark Hammel
Michael Giaimo

KLAUS
Sergio Pablos
Matthew Teevan
Marcin Jakubowski
Szymon Biernacki

WINNER: MISSING LINK
Brad Schiff
Travis Knight
Steve Emerson
Benoit Dubuc

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
David Burgess
Timothy Jason Smith
Mark Theriault
John Rix

TOY STORY 4
Josh Cooley
Mark Nielsen
Bob Moyer
Gary Bruins

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

GAME OF THRONES; “The Bells”
Joe Bauer
Steve Kullback
Ted Rae
Mohsen Mousavi
Sam Conway

HIS DARK MATERIALS; “The Fight to the Death”
Russell Dodgson
James Whitlam
Shawn Hillier
Robert Harrington

LADY AND THE TRAMP
Robert Weaver
Christopher Raimo
Arslan Elver
Michael Cozens
Bruno Van Zeebroeck

LOST IN SPACE; “Ninety-Seven”
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Niklas Jacobson
Juri Stanossek
Paul Benjamin

STRANGER THINGS – “Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum”
Paul Graff
Tom Ford
Michael Maher Jr.
Martin Pelletier
Andy Sowers

WINNER: THE MANDALORIAN; “The Child”
Richard Bluff
Abbigail Keller
Jason Porter
Hayden Jones
Roy K. Cancino

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

WINNER: CHERNOBYL; “1:23:45”
Max Dennison
Lindsay McFarlane
Clare Cheetham
Paul Jones
Claudius Christian Rauch

LIVING WITH YOURSELF; “Nice Knowing You”
Jay Worth
Jacqueline VandenBussche
Chris Wright
Tristan Zerafa

SEE; “Godflame”
Adrian de Wet
Eve Fizzinoglia
Matthew Welford
Pedro Sabrosa
Tom Blacklock

THE CROWN; “Aberfan”
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
David Fleet
Jonathan Wood

VIKINGS; “What Happens in the Cave”
Dominic Remane
Mike Borrett
Ovidiu Cinazan
Tom Morrison
Paul Byrne

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Charles Chabert
Chris Parise
Attila Zalanyi
Patrick Hagar

WINNER: Control
Janne Pulkkinen
Elmeri Raitanen
Matti Hämäläinen
James Tottman

Gears 5
Aryan Hanbeck
Laura Kippax
Greg Mitchell
Stu Maxwell

Myth: A Frozen Tale
Jeff Gipson
Nicholas Russell
Brittney Lee
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz

Vader Immortal: Episode I
Ben Snow
Mike Doran
Aaron McBride
Steve Henricks

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

“Anthem Conviction”
Viktor Muller
Lenka Likarova
Chris Harvey
Petr Marek

“BMW Legend”
Michael Gregory
Christian Downes
Tim Kafka
Toya Drechsler

WINNER: “Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Carsten Keller
Selçuk Ergen
Kiril Mirkov
William Laban

“PlayStation: Feel The Power of Pro”
Sam Driscoll
Clare Melia
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl

“Purdey’s: Hummingbird”
Jules Janaud
Emma Cook
Matthew Thomas
Philip Child

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Avengers: Damage Control
Michael Koperwas
Sherief Fattouh
Ian Bowie
Kishore Vijay
Curtis Hickman

Jurassic World: The Ride
Hayden Landis
Friend Wells
Heath Kraynak
Ellen Coss

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Asa Kalama
Rob Huebner
Khatsho Orfali
Susan Greenhow

WINNER: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Jason Bayever
Patrick Kearney
Carol Norton
Bill George

Universal Sphere
James Healy
Morgan MacCuish
Ben West
Charlie Bayliss

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature

WINNER: ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL; Alita
Michael Cozens
Mark Haenga
Olivier Lesaint
Dejan Momcilovic

AVENGERS: ENDGAME; Smart Hulk
Kevin Martel
Ebrahim Jahromi
Sven Jensen
Robert Allman

GEMINI MAN; Junior
Paul Story
Stuart Adcock
Emiliano Padovani
Marco Revelant

THE LION KING; Scar
Gabriel Arnold
James Hood
Julia Friedl
Daniel Fotheringham

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature

FROZEN 2; The Water Nøkk
Svetla Radivoeva
Marc Bryant
Richard E. Lehmann
Cameron Black

KLAUS; Jesper
Yoshimichi Tamura
Alfredo Cassano
Maxime Delalande
Jason Schwartzman

WINNER: MISSING LINK; Susan
Rachelle Lambden
Brenda Baumgarten
Morgan Hay
Benoit Dubuc

TOY STORY 4; Bo Peep
Radford Hurn
Tanja Krampfert
George Nguyen
Becki Rocha Tower

Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project

LADY AND THE TRAMP; Tramp
Thiago Martins
Arslan Elver
Stanislas Paillereau
Martine Chartrand

WINNER: STRANGER THINGS 3; Tom/Bruce Monster
Joseph Dubé-Arsenault
Antoine Barthod
Frederick Gagnon
Xavier Lafarge

THE MANDALORIAN; “The Child”; Mudhorn
Terry Bannon
Rudy Massar
Hugo Leygnac

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY; “Pilot”; Pogo
Aidan Martin
Craig Young
Olivier Beierlein
Laurent Herveic

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial

“Apex Legends”; Meltdown; Mirage
Chris Bayol
John Fielding
Derrick Sesson
Nole Murphy

“Churchill”; Churchie
Martino Madeddu
Philippe Moine
Clement Granjon
Jon Wood

WINNER: “Cyberpunk 2077”; Dex
Jonas Ekman
Jonas Skoog
Marek Madej
Grzegorz Chojnacki

“John Lewis”; Excitable Edgar; Edgar
Tim van Hussen
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Amir Bazazi
Michael Diprose

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

ALADDIN; Agrabah
Daniel Schmid
Falk Boje
Stanislaw Marek
Kevin George

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL; Iron City
John Stevenson-Galvin
Ryan Arcus
Mathias Larserud
Mark Tait

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN; Penn Station
John Bair
Vance Miller
Sebastian Romero
Steve Sullivan

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER; Pasaana Desert
Daniele Bigi
Steve Hardy
John Seru
Steven Denyer

WINNER: THE LION KING; The Pridelands
Marco Rolandi
Luca Bonatti
Jules Bodenstein
Filippo Preti

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

FROZEN 2; Giants’ Gorge
Samy Segura
Jay V. Jackson
Justin Cram
Scott Townsend

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD; The Hidden World
Chris Grun
Ronnie Cleland
Ariel Chisholm
Philippe Brochu

MISSING LINK; Passage to India Jungle
Oliver Jones
Phil Brotherton
Nick Mariana
Ralph Procida

WINNER: TOY STORY 4; Antiques Mall
Hosuk Chang
Andrew Finley
Alison Leaf
Philip Shoebottom

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

WINNER: GAME OF THRONES; The Iron Throne; Red Keep Plaza
Carlos Patrick DeLeon
Alonso Bocanegra Martinez
Marcela Silva
Benjamin Ross

LOST IN SPACE; Precipice; The Trench
Philip Engström
Benjamin Bernon
Martin Bergquist
Xuan Prada

THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE; The Endless Forest
Sulé Bryan
Charles Chorein
Christian Waite
Martyn Hawkins

THE MANDALORIAN; Nevarro Town
Alex Murtaza
Yanick Gaudreau
Marco Tremblay
Maryse Bouchard

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Emile Ghorayeb
Simon Jung
Nick Epstein
Mike Perry

WINNER: THE LION KING
Robert Legato
Caleb Deschanel
Ben Grossmann
AJ Sciutto

THE MANDALORIAN; “The Prisoner”; The Roost
Richard Bluff
Jason Porter
Landis Fields IV
Barry Baz Idoine

TOY STORY 4
Jean-Claude Kalache
Patrick Lin

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project

LOST IN SPACE; The Resolute
Xuan Prada
Jason Martin
Jonathan Vårdstedt
Eric Andersson

MISSING LINK; The Manchuria
Todd Alan Harvey
Dan Casey
Katy Hughes

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE; Rocket Train
Neil Taylor
Casi Blume
Ben McDougal
Chris Kuhn

WINNER: THE MANDALORIAN; “The Sin”; The Razorcrest
Doug Chiang
Jay Machado
John Goodson
Landis Fields IV

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

DUMBO; Bubble Elephants
Sam Hancock
Victor Glushchenko
Andrew Savchenko
Arthur Moody

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME; Molten Man
Adam Gailey
Jacob Santamaria
Jacob Clark
Stephanie Molk

WINNER: STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Don Wong
Thibault Gauriau
Goncalo Cabaca
François-Maxence Desplanques

THE LION KING
David Schneider
Samantha Hiscock
Andy Feery
Kostas Strevlos

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

ABOMINABLE
Alex Timchenko
Domin Lee
Michael Losure
Eric Warren

WINNER: FROZEN 2
Erin V. Ramos
Scott Townsend
Thomas Wickes
Rattanin Sirinaruemarn

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD; Water and Waterfalls
Derek Cheung
Baptiste Van Opstal
Youxi Woo
Jason Mayer

TOY STORY 4
Alexis Angelidis
Amit Baadkar
Lyon Liew
Michael Lorenzen

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

GAME OF THRONES; “The Bells”
Marcel Kern
Paul Fuller
Ryo Sakaguchi
Thomas Hartmann

“Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Selçuk Ergen
Radu Ciubotariu
Andreu Lucio
Vincent Ullmann

LOST IN SPACE; “Precipice”; Water Planet
Juri Bryan
Hugo Medda
Kristian Olsson
John Perrigo

WINNER: STRANGER THINGS 3; Melting Tom/Bruce
Nathan Arbuckle
Christian Gaumond
James Dong
Aleksandr Starkov

THE MANDALORIAN; “The Child”; Mudhorn
Xavier Martin Ramirez
Ian Baxter
Fabio Siino
Andrea Rosa

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Adam Bradley
Carlo Scaduto
Hirofumi Takeda
Ben Roberts

AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Tim Walker
Blake Winder
Tobias Wiesner
Joerg Bruemmer

CAPTAIN MARVEL; Young Nick Fury
Trent Claus
David Moreno Hernandez
Jeremiah Sweeney
Yuki Uehara

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Jeff Sutherland
John Galloway
Sam Bassett
Charles Lai

WINNER: THE IRISHMAN
Nelson Sepulveda
Vincent Papaix
Benjamin O’Brien
Christopher Doerhoff

Outstanding Compositing in an Episode

GAME OF THRONES; “The Bells”
Scott Joseph
James Elster
Corinne Teo
Sean Heuston

WINNER: GAME OF THRONES; “The Long Night”; Dragon Ground Battle
Mark Richardson
Darren Christie
Nathan Abbot
Owen Longstaff

STRANGER THINGS 3; Starcourt Mall Battle
Simon Lehembre
Andrew Kowbell
Karim El-Masry
Miklos Mesterhazy

WATCHMEN; “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice”; Looking Glass
Nathaniel Larouche
Iyi Tubi
Perunika Yorgova
Mitchell Beaton

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial

“BMW Legend”
Toya Drechsler
Vivek Tekale
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov

“Feeding America; I Am Hunger in America”
Dan Giraldo
Marcelo Pasqualino
Alexander Koester

WINNER: “Hennessy; The Seven Worlds”
Rod Norman
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov
Alessandro Granella

“PlayStation: Feel the Power of Pro”
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl
Greg Spencer
Theajo Dharan

Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project

ALADDIN; Magic Carpet
Mark Holt
Jay Mallet
Will Wyatt
Dickon Mitchell

GAME OF THRONES; “The Bells”
Sam Conway
Terry Palmer
Laurence Harvey
Alastair Vardy

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE
Neil Corbould
David Brighton
Ray Ferguson
Keith Dawson

WINNER: THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE AGE OF RESISTANCE; “She Knows All the Secrets”
Sean Mathiesen
Jon Savage
Toby Froud
Phil Harvey

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

DOWNFALL
Matías Heker
Stephen Moroz
Bradley Cocksedge

LOVE AND FIFTY MEGATONS
Denis Krez
Josephine Roß
Paulo Scatena
Lukas Löffler

OEIL POUR OEIL
Alan Guimont
Thomas Boileau
Malcolm Hunt
Robin Courtoise

WINNER: THE BEAUTY
Marc Angele
Aleksandra Todorovic
Pascal Schelbli
Noel Winzen

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Hosts Chinese Lunar New Year Dinner

On January 28, New York Film Academy’s New York campus, located in downtown Manhattan across the street from Battery Park, hosted a dinner party to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year—the Year of the Rat—in the student lounge.

More than fifty students from across the globe joined the dinner to taste a variety of traditional Chinese dishes and celebrate the Year of the Rat together. Additionally, several representatives from New York Film Academy recently celebrated the Lunar New Year at the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York.

New York Film Academy wishes everyone a warm and happy Lunar New Year!

Check out the photos below from our successful Chinese Lunar New Year celebration:

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