Last fall, a partnership between the Film Institute and the New York Film Critics Series (NYFCS)allowed 18 advanced filmmaking students to capitalize on a unique opportunity to direct and produce segments featuring some of today’s top filmmakers. In the process, they gained valuable hands-on experience in researching, interviewing, writing and editing original programming.
The students began working in September with the NYFCS, which screens movies before their release dates at leading independent cinemas nationwide. Peter Travers, film critic for Rolling Stone and ABC’s Popcorn, and Alison Bailes of BBC.com and WOR Radio moderated the events. The students were given the opportunity to create original film-based content, while meeting and interacting with some of today’s leading filmmakers, including Loving producer Peter Saraf, La La Land writer/director Damian Chazzelle and 20th Century Women producer Anne Carey.