New York Film Academy (NYFA) Filmmaking Alum Claudio Casale came to New York City to study filmmaking, but it’s his home country of Italy where he’s already making a name for himself. His short documentary, My Tyson, is premiering at this year’s Venice Film Festival, an incredible achievement for someone still relatively early in their career.
Casale hails from Rome and began studying at NYFA’s New York campus in April 2017, attending the 8-week Filmmaking workshop. NYFA’s short-term workshops create an especially intensive environment for film school students looking to study the craft of filmmaking in a short amount of time, focusing on hands-on learning with state-of-the-art equipment. Over a period of two months, Casale was challenged with producing five films.
Casale proved more than capable to live up to that challenge. His directing instructor, Thomas Barnes, spoke highly of Casale’s time at NYFA: “Claudio was one of those students a teacher is so happy to have in the class — brilliant, passionate, original, and supportive of his colleagues.” About Casale’s recent successes in Venice and elsewhere, Barnes continued, “I am delighted but not surprised to hear of his latest accomplishments. He has a unique voice and a fearless attitude that’s going to carry him far.”
After finishing his short but productive stint at the New York Film Academy, Casale made the most of his newly-learned skills, working on his own projects and getting jobs on others’. He got to work with Italian director Mimmo Calopresti as assistant director, which Casale called “a good, intense learning experience.”
Casale also quickly got to work on his own film, a short documentary called My Tyson. The 15-minute film focuses on a young boxer in the suburbs of Rome, Alaoma Tyson, who was born in Italy from Nigerian parents. The documentary received funding from MiBAC, Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
The important story has been well-received and was included in the MigrArti Selection of this year’s Venice Film Festival along with other short films focused on the topic of migration and immigration. Being included is a huge opportunity for filmmakers like Casale. The Venice Film Festival is one of the “Big Three” international film festivals, along with the Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival. Established in 1932, the Venice Film Festival is celebrating its 75th year this summer.
MigrArti shorts also get screened on the Italian public broadcast network RAI, which will give My Tyson and Casale even further exposure. Casale is continuing this strong momentum by directing a narrative short film soon after the Venice Film Festival, using 35mm film. He is also developing a longer documentary that previously won him a first pitch contest in Italy earlier this summer.
The New York Film Academy congratulates Claudio Casale on his incredible success, and looks forward to following his fruitful, accomplished career as a young and fearless filmmaker!
Please note: NYFA does not represent that these are typical or guaranteed career outcomes. The success of our graduates in any chosen professional pathway depends on multiple factors, and the achievements of NYFA alumni are the result of their hard work, perseverance, talent and circumstances.