Five New Films by Tisch Alumni Join NYU Production Lab’s Slate

The NYU Production Lab has revealed its 2021 picks for its slate of supported projects. This year, all projects chosen were made by NYU Tisch Graduate Film alumni and students. 

Since 2015, the NYU Production Lab has helped to launch the careers of a new generation of filmmakers by supporting exceptional first features from throughout the NYU community including Chloe Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Michael Larnell’s Cronies, Cathy Yan’s Dead Pigs, and A.B. Shawky’s Yomeddine (Cannes Main Competition 2018, Egypt’s submission to the Academy Awards). As a creative content incubator, the Lab has served as a bridge for students navigating the transition from an academic classroom to the professional creative industry.

See below for the 2021 Slate selections, and read the full press release here. 

NYU Production Lab’s 2021 Slate

Flying Lessons: Elizabeth Nichols '17 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Director; Alik Barsoumian '16 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Producer

Flying Lessons tells the story of punk artist Philly Abe’s intimate journey of social, artistic, and spiritual transformation in the face of New York City’s cultural crisis.

The Plutonians – Tim Delaney '20 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Writer/Director, Shao Min Chew Chia '20 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Producer

When the scientific definition of the word “planet” threatens to exclude Pluto, an insecure Pluto expert swoops into a chaotic international astronomy conference to save it by any means necessary.

The Story of the Whale – Adrian Cardenas '18 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Writer/Director; Maria Altamirano '19 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film) and Juan Pablo Molina '22 (Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Producers

A fable set in a contemporary Cuba: a down-on-his-luck fisherman nets a humpback whale and works to cement his newfound popularity by storing the enormous skeleton inside his remote town’s tiny museum, but a fast-approaching hurricane threatens the preservation of this rare event and challenges his place within his community. 

Calma Chicha – Inés Gowland '17 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Writer/Director; Joy Jorgensen '18 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Producer

Calma Chicha is a fast-paced comedy about a gay agronomist who puts her coming-out plans on hold when she discovers that her machista mother is being scammed by her favorite son to sell the family’s historic cropland in rural Argentina.

The Last to Survive in America – Jarreau Carrillo '15 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Writer/Director; Julius Pryor '16 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film) and Marttise Hill '14 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Producers

In a hilarious and heartfelt family dramedy, a 31-year-old mama’s boy is thrust into the role of the provider for his family when his mother unexpectedly passes away and they are evicted from their home.