Elizabeth Rinella Elsass
Manager, Production Operations
Elizabeth Rinella Elsass is the Associate Director of Production for the Graduate Film department. She oversees all production operations as well as production advisement for the program. Elsass has taught producing and filmmaking at New York University for almost twenty years, and has supported Graduate Film productions from first year projects through thesis films since 2016. Elsass began her career at TriStar Pictures in Los Angeles in script development for Wendy Finerman Productions. Elsass assisted producer Laura Ziskin on Gus Van Sant’s “To Die For” and Ms. Ziskin’s directing debut, “Oh What A Day, 1914!” written by Alvin Sargent while working at Columbia Pictures. Elsass was part of the initial team with Ziskin that created Fox 2000 at 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles before relocating to New York City. She has worked with many renowned artists, including Annie Leibovitz, Ron Howard, Todd Hallowell, Alvin Sargent and Buck Henry. Her greatest love is supporting artists during their education as they develop their voice and vision. She currently teaches Introduction to Producing in the Graduate Film Program.
Courses
Introduction to Producing (Graduate Film)
Open Arts: Fundamentals of Filmmaking I
The Art of Visual Storytelling
Fundamentals of Film II: Directing & Producing the Short
Understanding Story
Producing Essentials