My NYFA Doc experience was invaluable in terms of equipping me with the skills and insight I needed to direct this film,” said de Wet. “Prior to my one year conservatory course in documentary filmmaking I had never in fact made a film before, as I had been working in a management role at a brand consultancy. The course not only taught me the technicalities of shooting, editing, producing and directing, but more importantly the elements and critical thinking behind what makes a good story; and how to convey that to an audience. Doing the one year documentary course at NYFA may have been the most worthwhile investment I have ever made and, considering this film was my thesis film, I attribute nearly all I have learned to my training at the New York Film Academy.

“You come out of the program with the fundamental expertise of every single aspect of making a film – which is so unique.”

I can honestly say that the 1-year Documentary program at NYFA in Los Angeles gave me very well-rounded skills. Although it was an intense program, I learnt how to do literally pretty much everything myself. Meaning; writing, producing, directing, filming, editing and sound mixing. And also how to make completed films during a short amount of time. It turned out that this was exactly what a job I applied to at George Media in Venice was looking for. The official job title of the position is “Young Director”, but we are expected to do almost all the things mentioned above ourselves, except we get to work with a DP. The job entails making 12 short videos during 6 months, so having learnt to make films under time pressure was incredibly helpful. Also, since the Documentary program at NYFA is so hands-on and we make 6 films during the year, it gave me the confidence to keep doing what I had already done at school multiple times in the professional world.

It’s been about seven years since I took the advanced course in filmmaking at NYFA. Since that time, my primary job has been a film editor, and I now have over 10 features and numerous shorts that I have edited. Many have played some of the world’s premier festivals such as Sundance, Rotterdam, SXSW, Montreal, Berlin, and others. Currently, I have a film in national distribution that I both line-produced and edited, entitled American-Desi. It is playing in Manhattan at the Cinema Village and has made almost one million dollars since it was released one month ago.
A feature film that I wrote and directed called Neptune’s Rocking Horse has played all over the world and received glowing reviews in Variety, ABC TV (San Francisco), and from Carrie Rickie of the Philadelphia Inquirer (among others). A short film I directed called “Ketosis” won the audience award for best comedy at the Edinburgh Short Film Festival.
I owe a great deal to NYFA. I was lucky to have a terrific (and small) group of students in my class. The fact that we each played several roles on each other’s films is one key reason I became enthralled with all aspects of filmmaking, from sound to camera to editing. You may be interested to know that I am still very close to my fellow classmate, Renato Falcao. He was DP — Director of Photography — on many of the projects I have worked on — including “Neptune” and “Ketosis” mentioned above!
NYFA taught me that editing is an important and powerful aspect of filmmaking. Far from being a mere button-pusher, I believe the editing process is one of reinvention. I enjoy working with the pace of a film, experimenting with rhythm, problem solving, scene juggling, tightening moments, expanding moments, and basically getting to the true essence of the film. I thoroughly enjoy working with directors who have the same open mind.
Milovan Radovic
In a recent interview for a Peruvian film website (filmsperu.com), award-winning television advertising director, Milovan Radovic, talked about the impact the New York Film Academy has had on his career:
“When I was younger, learning filmmaking was a problem and no one could tell me what I needed to do in order to become a film director. It was as if you needed to be chosen by God…

After submitting the films I had made at NYFA to Channel Four (UK), I was invited to direct an 11-minute film as part of the network’s season. The knowledge and confidence I had gained at NYFA undoubtedly fed into the film and helped make it the success it has become. The film, “It’s Not Unusual,” has won the British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Short Film.