NYFA
Faculty Directory

Faculty Directory

Tony Schwartz

Tony began working in the film industry in 1986. He spent most of his career in production working as an assistant director and line producer in both feature films and network television. He has been a part of many critically acclaimed films and series, including One False Move, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, and The Unit. Along the way, he has worked with luminaries such as Carl Reiner, David Mamet, Dan Petrie, Sr., Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon, Carl Franklin, and many others. Since leaving production in 2011, he has continued to develop original content with Kohler Schwartz Productions. He is currently working on a bio-pic about AIDS activist Marty Delaney.

Alex Simmons Screenwriting Instructor

Alex Simmons is an award-winning freelance writer, writing coach/teacher, and creative arts consultant. He’s written for Disney Books, Penguin-Random House, and Marvel/DC/Archie Comics. Simmons is the creator of the acclaimed adventure book series Blackjack. He’s also developed scripts for plays, teleplays, documentaries, interactive live shows, and animation projects. Simmons has taught creative arts masterclasses for students and educators in the US, West Indies, Africa, and Europe. He’s taught screenwriting at the New York Film Academy. Simmons has been a guest speaker, served on numerous arts and education panels, delivered lectures on children’s entertainment mediums, and on empowering young people through the arts. He founded the annual family event, Kids Comic Con, and three comic arts exhibits, which have traveled abroad.

Nan Siribunlue

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Nan has decades of experience in the industry starting early in Hollywood as a PA and continuing on to various roles as a Producer’s Assistant in development, production coordination for commercials, and writer, director and producer on various Music Videos and content for the web.

She earned her BA in Cinema, Television, Arts at the California State University of Northridge, emphasizing in Screenwriting and Television Production. Following that she studied Improv and Comedy Sketch Writing at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade in Los Angeles. She was then accepted as a fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory where she earned her MFA in Screenwriting.

Nan joined the NYFA team in the summer of 2019 as the Filmmaking Department Coordinator and started teaching Screenwriting that fall. She teaches BFA, MA, AFA and One Year classes for the Los Angeles Campus.

Nick Sivakumaran Senior Directing Instructor

MFA in Film Production, USC School of Cinema/TV; BA in Biology and Psychology, University of Rochester. Writer/Director of award-winning short film, “Diwali.” Screened at over 30 international film festivals, a recipient of a Director’s Guild of America Student Film Award and invited to the 2002 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. Also won commercial contests for clients, Chevrolet and Lifestyles Condoms and recently wrote a stage musical that had a six-week run in Hollywood.

Yoselin Solórzano

Yoselin Solórzano is an Ecuadorian filmmaker based in South Florida. She holds a Master’s Degree in Producing form New York Film Academy. Yoselin has more than 10 years of working in the Ecuadorian television industry where she has functioned as a Content Producer and as First Assistant Director for unscripted and scripted shows. After moving to Miami, she currently teaches several producing courses for the filmmaking department and filmcraft courses for the acting for film department of NYFA Miami.

Sue Jin Song

MFA in Acting, NYU/Tisch
A “Usual Suspect” at New York Theater Workshop, where she worked with Van Lier playwrights on developing new work. She has acted in theaters in New York City and regionally around the country, including world premieres written by Paula Vogel and Velina Hasu Houston. Film/TV credits include New Amsterdam, Generat+ion, Law & Order, Won’t Back Down, and Someone Like You. Sue Jin also wrote and acted in a one woman play Children of Medea, which was awarded “Best of DC Fringe” and was subsequently produced by Constellation Theatre. For the Screenwriting Department in LA, she teaches Acting as part of the Script To Screen course. In the Producing Department, she teaches Acting for Producers. In the Filmmaking Department, she teaches Acting for Filmmakers.

Samantha Soule

Samantha Soule is a filmmaker and actress. She directed Midday Black Midnight Blue, Birdwatching starring Amanda Seyfried, Taffeta, Shed, and Telling Time. As an actress, she can currently be seen in Outer Banks, Godless, Tales Of The City, Queen’s Gambit, and Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman on Netflix and City On A Hill for Showtime. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

Luisa Ibanez Suarez

Luisa Ibañez is a P.G.A Senior Content Film and TV Producer and member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has more than twenty-five years of experience in the US and LATAM media industry, including an overall of 1000 hours of content produced in different formats for diverse audiences and three International Emmy nominations for projects premiered on the US primetime. From this journey, she understands the expectations of diverse audiences in Latin America, Spain and Latinos in the US. Credits as Development Producer, Line Producer, and Supervising Producer on the successful Hispanic TV Series and telenovelas from NBC Telemundo, Univision, Televisa, and Movistar prove her high-quality deliveries in projects distributed in more than 100 countries and over 35 languages.

Shawn Sullivan

Shawn has been the post-production supervisor for the NYFA’s New York City and Los Angeles campuses, and was the director of the NYFA summer workshop at Walt Disney World. He has worked as an editor on short film, commercials, marketing videos, and feature films, with clients including Redken, Keller Williams, Exit Realty, Caldwell Banker, and Disney. In 2014, Disney presented Shawn with a Mousecar (Disney’s version of an Oscar) for 10 years of working with Disney Youth Program and NYFA. Shawn previously worked for Apple teaching film editing software. He is Final Cut Pro Certified by Apple. He is also an Avid Certified Instructor with the Media Composer film editing software. BA, Screenwriting: California State University Northridge

Andrea Swift Chair of Filmmaking

A cinematic storyteller with more than 20 years experience, Swift has served as executive producer and director of PBS’ Emmy-nominated documentary series, In the Life. Her films have screened at the United Nations Earth Summit and festivals worldwide, including Berlin International Film Festival (Best Short Film), Raindance Film Festival (Best of Festival Selection), CIFF, and Chicago International Film Festival (Silver). She has created content for AMC, History, WE, the NY Knicks and Madison Square Garden; and has directed and written for top talent including Oscar winner Susan Saradon, nominees Laura Linney, Patricia Clarkson, and Lesley Gore, and Tony Award and Emmy Award winners including Alan Cumming, Ossie Davis, Harvey Fierstein, Cherry Jones, Denis O’Hare, and RuPaul. Currently, Swift focuses on writing, story producing, and creative consulting. MFA, Columbia University.

Graham Tallman

Graham is a writer/director whose films have been to over 100 festivals, have won numerous awards, and have gained distribution. As a writer, he has a script on the Black List, he has adapted a comic book for 20th Century Fox, and collaborated with companies such as Point Grey (Seth Rogen), Dark Castle (Joel Silver), and producers such as Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story) and Vertigo Entertainment (It, The Lego Movie). He wrote and directed the feature film Creeper, and was the second unit director for the film The Nevsky Prospect for Amazon Studios (which he also produced). As an assistant director, Graham worked on such films as The Virgin Suicides (Sophia Coppola), and Driven with Sylvester Stallone. He has also been a Story Analyst for Amazon Studios where he read and analyzed over 300 screenplays. He most recently pitched an adaptation of a novel to Netflix, and is currently writing his first pilot, as well as hosting Simulation Nation, a podcast that takes place in virtual reality.

Edward Timpe

Edward Timpe is a highly experienced film and TV producer with nearly 20 years of experience in the industry. After earning a BS in Kinesiology from Indiana University, he went on to pursue a master’s degree in Film Production from Chapman University. He has taught at NYFA – Los Angeles since 2010.

Currently, he is focused on developing new content that pushes the boundaries of storytelling and engages audiences in new and exciting ways. With a passion for innovation and a deep understanding of the industry, Edward is committed to creating content that resonates with viewers and leaves a lasting impact.

Igor Torgeson

MFA Film, Boston University; BA Journalism, George Washington University. Freelance editor and actor in Los Angeles. Has edited for clients including the Gameshow Network, National Lampoon, McGraw-Hill Publications, Southern California Gas Company, and Cessna Aircraft. Commercial credits include campaigns for Citibank and Brighthouse Networks.

Hernán Toro

Hernán Toro (Director of Photography) was born and raised in the colorful city of Caracas, Venezuela; there he studied advertising before leaving home for England, where he attended The London Film School. Once back in Caracas, he rapidly became one of most sought after and recognized cinematographers in Venezuela, then South America and eventually moved to New York City where he resides since 1995.

Toro has shot over 20 feature films most notably “First We Take Brooklyn,” “3 Noches,” “Mob Town,” “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.” Recently “Spiked,” “Blackjack: The Story of Jackie Ryan,” “Hamlet/Horatio,” “I Love Us,” and nearly 900 TV commercials, several music videos, shorts, and documentaries. In between films he dedicates his time to teach Cinematography to newer generations of filmmakers at the New York Film Academy.

Hernán continues to apply his eye, knowledge, and passion to his cinematography. He is also an accomplished still photographer, with his work shown as part of a dozen photographic exhibitions, photos published in magazines, catalogs, and three architectural books. (by Gregg Brilliant)

Paul Warner

Paul Warner is an award-winning director and educator, whose more than 50 productions span film, theater, and opera. He most recently directed the feature film, HAMLET/HORATIO, which premiered on Amazon in June 2021, and subsequently enjoyed limited theatrical release in 2022. HAMLET/HORATIO has been the recipient of 15 international festival awards. Prior to HAMLET/HORATIO, Warner directed a new musical, RIVER OF STONE by Drama Desk nominee Peter Melnick with book by Ty Defoe which premiered at the Jaffa Festival as well as Wendy Whelan of the New York City Ballet in the premiere of WOMEN: THE WAR WITHIN, a dance-opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun and Obie-winning writer Matthew Maguire, which premiered at The Baryshnikov Arts Center. Film credits include the feature FALL TIME (Lionsgate) starring Mickey Rourke (nominated for The Grand Jury Prize in competition at Sundance), IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (Sundance premiere), the disco movie musical, KAYA: TASTE OF PARADISE (lyrics and music by Anna K. Jacobs (Teeth) and book by Jerome Parker as well as David Michalek’s PORTRAITS IN DRAMATIC TIME, with Alan Rickman, William H. Macy, and Holly Hunter (Lincoln Center Festival premiere), for which he directed the actors and served as Executive Creative Consultant. Warner is a graduate of Harvard and The American Film Institute and the recipient of numerous honors including The Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation for sustained achievement in directing. He has served on the faculties of: NYU, SVA, and SUNY Purchase, amongst others. Currently, he is a senior instructor of Directing, Acting, and Producing at The New York Film Academy. Paulwarnerofficial.com

Jonathan Whittaker Chair of Short Term Programs

Chair of Short-term Intensive Programs

Jonathan Whittaker is a partner and founding member of ManInHat, a New York-based production company. With over 15 years of experience in the film industry, having produced, directed, and lensed short films, music videos, live concerts, commercials, TV shows, features, docs and 3D specials, he is never one to shy away from a new challenge. Nissan, Sony Pictures, DirecTV, Gillette, Hyundai, and Sports Illustrated are just a few of his clients and collaborators. When he is not on set or in an edit you can usually find him at the head of a lecture hall sharing his thoughts on the art of cinematography and the director’s craft. In addition to being a resident professor at the New York Film Academy, he has also given guest lectures all over the globe.

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