DDW IDEA Council: Artist Visas & Pathways for Noncitizen Dramatic Writers
IDEA Council
Artist Visas & Pathways for Noncitizen Dramatic Writers
Thursday, November 9
12:15pm - 1:45pm ET
Via Zoom
A panel of DDW graduates and an industry expert will be sharing personal experiences of navigating artist visa processes and transitioning from being students to working artists in the US as noncitizens. This panel will also address how US citizens can support classmates and colleagues through visa processes, so we strongly encourage our whole community to attend! Please bring questions. A note that no lawyers will be participating and no legal advice will be given from this panel, rather this is an opportunity to hear personal stories. Students and faculty from other departments are also welcome to attend and bring their questions.
Christian Ghosn is a Lebanese-Canadian screenwriter and film director currently based out of Los Angeles, California. In 2019 he graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of The Arts with a double major in Dramatic Writing and Film Production. He is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. His Thesis film “Violent Nights,” which was made under the guidance of hisproduction advisor and renowned film director Mary Lambert, finished a year long run on the festival circuit which saw it screen at 13 internationally recognized film festivals and while picking up 7 awards along the way. Christian’s original TV Pilot “Violent Nights” is currently in development with Executive Producer’s Mark and Dorothy Canton (Power, Den of Thieves). Ghosn was in pre-production on his first feature length film “We Go To The Beach To Fall In Love,” before the project became delayed due to the WGA and SAG strikes. Ghosn just wrapped production on a short film he wrote and directed, which starred an ensemble of name actors including Rose Abdoo, Kevin Corrigan, Laith Nakli and Amir Malalklou.
Roberta Pereira (she/her) is the incoming Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City. Most recently, she was Executive Director of The Playwrights Realm, an Off-Broadway theater company devoted to supporting early-career playwrights. Previously, Roberta developed and produced shows on Broadway and the West End. Roberta is also the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Dress Circle Publishing, which publishes theater-themed books. She is a lecturer at David Geffen School of Drama and consults with the Miranda Family Fellowship. Roberta graduated from David Geffen School of Drama's Theater Management program and Wesleyan University. She is originally from Brazil and lives in New York City with her daughter.
Vaishnavi Padmanathan is a writer for screen and television from India. She worked at Kross Pictures, an international production house, in the Development Team that handled the pre-production side for feature films and television series. She is credited on the multilingual Indian film 'Oh! Baby.' She completed her MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of The Arts with the Gary Kalkin Memorial Scholarship. She is currently based in Los Angeles, where she works as a writer and a script reader.