The Graduate Film Department at NYU Tisch invites industry professionals to speak or make presentations every Wednesday evening during the academic year. Some prominent recent guests of the series include: David Fincher, Sofia Coppola, Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, Jodie Foster, Ang Lee, Robert Elswit, James Schamus, James Franco, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Susanne Bier and David Mamet.
Here is the full list of participants for the academic year of 2016-17:
BEAU WILLIMON
September 21, 2016
Beau Willimon stopped by Grad Film to do a Chair’s Workshop. He is a writer and producer, known for The Ides of March, House of Cards, and Jack Johnson. As the creator of the Netflix original series House of Cards Beau also served as showrunner for the first four seasons. To date, it has received 33 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and eight Golden Globe Award nominations. His film The Ides of March was nominated in 2012 for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and for four Golden Globe Awards, including Best Picture – Drama and Best Screenplay.
EWAN MCGREGOR and AMERICAN PASTORAL SCREENING
October 21, 2016
Ewan McGregor stopped by to show the film American Pastoral, his directorial debut, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Philip Roth novel. He also stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a man who dedicates himself to finding his daughter after she disappears. Ewan McGregor is best known for his roles in Trainspotting, in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Moulin Rouge!, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. After the screening of his film, McGregor had a Q&A with the students
EVENING WITH MARIA GIESE AND THE FILM FATALES
November 30, 2016
The Film Fatales and Grad Film hosted a discussion about gender equality in film and television with advocate and director Maria Giese. In 2011 Giese, director of When Saturday Comes and Hunger, turned her attention to the underrepresentation of women directors in United States media. She began researching and writing about viable legal strategies to remediate illegal discrimination against women in Hollywood, citing Title VII. Finally, in 2015 in the Directors Guild of America, Giese became the person who instigated the biggest industry-wide Federal investigation for women directors in Hollywood history, going on now. The Film Fatales is a diverse network of women filmmakers who meet regularly to mentor each other, share resources, collaborate on projects and build a supportive community in which to make their films. Sonejuhi Sinha of the Film Fatales and our chair, Barbara Schock, led a Q&A with Giese.
FRED ELMES
December 7, 2016
Alumnus Frederick Elmes did a Chair’s Workshop with a Q&A led by Tony Jannelli. Lester Cohen, an adjunct professor and production designer, also stopped by to discuss working with Fred on the HBO series The Night Of. Elmes has served as cinematographer on some of the most acclaimed American films of the past four decades, including: Eraserhead, River’s Edge, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Broken Flowers, and Synecdoche, New York. Early in his career, Elmes was offered a fellowship at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles where he was fortunate to meet and work with two icons of independent cinema - John Cassavetes and David Lynch. These two early influences have informed his work throughout his career. Elmes is also a frequent collaborator with directors Ang Lee and Jim Jarmusch; both of whom are NYU Grad Film Alumni.
YARED ZELEKE and LAMB SCREENING
December 14, 2016
Alumnus Yared Zeleke returned to screen his film Lamb. He wrote and directed the film, which was his first feature and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. It was the first Ethiopian film to be included in the Official Selection. LAMB was selected as the Ethiopian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. This remarkable feature debut tells the story of young Ephraim, a half-Jewish, Ethiopian boy who, when his uncle decides that his beloved sheep must be sacrificed for the next religious feast, does everything he can to save the animal.
ELODIE KEENE
February 1, 2017
Elodie Keene came by to discuss episodic television directing in a Q&A with Tony Jannelli. Keene - an American film & television director, producer and editor – has won 3 Primetime Emmys. She has directed shows such as The Wire, American Horror Story, Glee, Nashville, The New Normal, NCIS, The New Normal, Nip/Tuck, Saving Grace, House, Criminal Minds, Night Stalker, Boston Public, Scrubs, Judging Amy, Law & Order Special Victims Unit, Felicity, Ally McBeal, The Practice, NYPD Blue, American Gothic, ER, and dozens more.
PETER DINKLAGE
February 8, 2017
Actor and producer Peter Dinklage stopped by to do a Q&A with Barbara Schock. Dinklage made his film debut in Living in Oblivion (1995) starring Steve Buscemi. After a recommendation from Buscemi to the director Alexandre Rockwell, Dinklage was then cast in the comedy 13 Moons (2002). Since then he has appeared in numerous films. Currently, Dinklage portrays Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones. For this, he has won 2 Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2017, Dinklage became one of the highest paid actors on television.
SCOTT FRANK
February 15, 2017
Writer and director Scott Frank stopped by Grad Film for a Chair’s Workshop. In 2008, Scott Frank’s directorial debut, The Lookout, won the Independent Spirit award for Best First Feature. Along with The Lookout, Frank’s other screenplays include Little Man Tate, Dead Again, Malice, Heaven’s Prisoners, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, The Interpreter, Marley & Me, The Wolverine, Walk Among the Tombstones, and Logan.
ALAN TAYLOR
March 22, 2017
Alumnus Alan Taylor came for a Chair’s Workshop with Barbara Schock. Taylor is an American television and film director, television producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his work on TV shows such as Lost, The West Wing, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood and Mad Men. He also directed films such as Palookaville, Thor: The Dark World, and Terminator Genisys. He is currently working on a television adaptation of the Strugatsky brothers’ 1971 science fiction novel Roadside Picnic for WGN America network. Taylor will return to direct for the seventh season of Game of Thrones.
DANIS TANOVIĆ and AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF AN IRON PICKER SCREENING
April 12, 2017
Danis Tanović, a highly acclaimed feature film director, came to Grad Film and screened his film An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, followed by a Q&A with students. Tanović’s debut feature, No Man’s Land, received over 40 international awards, making it one of the most awarded first feature films in history. It won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as Best Script prizes at the Cannes Film Festival and European Film Awards. Tanović has made two other films about war and its consequences: Cirkus Columbia, and Triage. An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker was Danis Tanović's fifth feature film, winning the Jury Grand Prix and Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlinale. This was followed by Tigers and Death in Sarajevo, selected for the Berlinale Competition and winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and FIPRESCI Award.
CARL FRANKLIN
Guest in Residence
April 24 – May 1, 2017
Carl Franklin was Grad Film’s Guest in Residence in 2017. Franklin is best known for writing and directing the film Devil in a Blue Dress. He started his career as a television actor before moving behind the camera. He has directed episodes of Homeland, The Newsroom, The Leftovers, The Affair, House of Cards, and more. Franklin was recently nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for House of Cards.