Thank you to our esteemed filmmakers who joined us for Fireside Chats at TISCH ON MAIN at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival!
Below, watch NYU Tisch filmmakers discuss their projects and the work that brought them to the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Videographer: Spenser Heaps @sheaps
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Featuring Undergraduate Film & TV alumni Giselle Bonilla ’20 (THE MUSICAL), Stephanie Ahn* ’99 (BEDFORD PARK), Adam Meeks ’15 (UNOIN COUNTY), and Grad Film alumna Myrsini Aristidou* ‘17 (HOLD ONTO ME) in conversation with Tisch Dean Rubén Polendo.
*2026 Sundance FIlm Festival Award Winners:
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature, Bedford Park Stephanie Ahn ’99 (BFA, Kanbar Institute, Film and Television), director/writer
Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic HOLD ONTO ME (Κράτα Με) Myrsini Aristidou ’17 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), director / writer / producer
With entertainment attorney and NYU Tisch alum Alexa Whiteside ’12 (BFA, Kanbar Institute, Film & TV) (CEO & Managing Partner, WAM Entertainment Law) with Kanbar Institute, Undergraduate Film & TV Associate Chair and alumna Christina DeHaven-Call ’99.
Featuring director, Josef Kubota Wladyka* ‘14 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Grad Film), producers Kimberly Parker Zox ’14 and Mao Nagakura ’98 (BFA, Kanbar Institute, Film and Television), and editor Benjamin Rodriguez, Jr. ’16 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Grad Film) in conversation with Shaka King ’13 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Grad Film).
*2026 Sundance FIlm Festival Award Winner:
U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Directing Award Josef Kubota Wladyka ’14 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), director / writer / producer for Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty!
Featuring director Ramzi Bashour ’20 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), producer Max Walker-Silverman ’20 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), and production designer Juliana Barreto Barreto ’20 (MFA, Design for Stage & Film), along with cinematographer Alfonso Herrera Salcedo ’20 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film) and costume designer Stine Dahlman ’20 (MFA, Design for Stage & Film), for a conversation about Bashour’s debut feature film, Hot Water, in conversation with Graduate Film Chair Andrew MacLean.
Featuring Cathy Yan ’13/’16 (MBA, Stern/MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film) as she discussed her next blockbuster, The Gallerist featuring Sterling K. Brown ’01, with film editor Brian Kates ’94 (BFA, Kanbar Institute, Film and Television) and professor & Executive Director of the NYU Production Lab, John Tintori.
