Given the diverse backgrounds of New York Film Academy’s students and instructors, it’s no wonder we’re well represented in this year’s festival. See which members of NYFA are representing this year’s Cannes Film Festival!
Iceberg is a story about being who you truly are and the difficult choices we have to make to succeed on this. Lora leads a seemingly happy married life with a loving husband and a daughter. One night she meets Kate, a younger and somewhat inexperienced woman to whom she will begin a heated affair with. Lora will try to keep this new relationship as casual as possible, but after intimacy brings emotions to the surface, Lora will be forced to face her true feelings and finally make a decision. Floating icebergs have a significant proportion of their mass below the surface of the water. So does life.
Legendary director Rob Reiner visited New York Film Academy and shared an advance screening of his upcoming film, The Magic of Belle Isle, a comedy-drama starring Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen. He also sat with students to watch the film before spending over 2 hours answering their questions!
Rob found fame as an actor in the landmark television series All In the Family, but went on to become the acclaimed director of influential films, ranging from the pure comedy of This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride to the intense drama of Stand By Me, Misery, A Few Good Men, and Ghosts of Mississippi; from the romantic comedy of When Harry Met Sally, The American President, and Flipped to the poignant comedy-drama, The Bucket List.
Though he was asked questions about many of his films, Rob named Stand By Me as one of his favorite film projects. When asked about working with the film’s young cast, Rob said, “You can teach them craft, but you can’t teach them talent,” and went on to speak glowingly of the film’s young stars. He continued, “It was turned down by all of the studio heads. I thought, ‘I don’t know if anyone will see it, but I like it.’”
Rob told stories about growing up with his talented father, writer/actor/director Carl Reiner, saying, “My father was on television before we owned a television! We bought a television so we could see him on television.” Rob said he learned the art of storytelling on the set of The Dick Van Dyke Show, where his father was the writer. He also said he learned from his films’ stars, praising Kathy Bates, Morgan Freeman, and Jack Nicholson (complete with a spot-on Nicholson impression!).
Rob also thanked the students for their intriguing questions about the art of filmmaking, saying, “Usually I turn up at these events and I just get asked how to get an agent!”
Hello, Universal Studios! Student Films from NYFA LA
We at the New York Film Academy are very proud of our students’ thesis work, and we wanted to share the fruits of their labor with our site followers. Since we couldn’t possibly ask you to watch each one of the student films, we put together a reel of some of the best work to come out of our Universal Studios film school campus so far this year. Take a look! Congratulations on finishing your thesis films, everyone!
Film School Thesis Films
It’s that time of year again — film school thesis screenings! Tonight it’s my turn to host as my directing students screen their thesis projects to a live audience for the very first time. They work so hard. And these films mean so much to them. It’s hard not to feel excited for them. But what always impresses me most, is how far they’ve come in such a short time. Congratulations to all the March students and a special “farewell” to section C. I’ll always remember you guys fondly. Best of luck in the future. And please keep in touch.
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By Claude Kerven, Chair of The New York Film Academy Filmmaking Program
